Snake

What is Snake?

Snake is one of the oldest and most beloved arcade games ever made — a design so simple you can explain it in one sentence, and so deep that people have chased high scores on it for over forty years. You guide a growing snake around a 20×20 grid, eating food to get longer while avoiding the walls and your own ever-expanding body. Our version keeps the classic rules intact: no wrapping around the edges, no power-ups, no gimmicks. Just you, the grid, and a snake that gets faster and longer until one wrong turn ends the run.

Every bite of food is worth 10 points plus a length bonus, so a long snake earns noticeably more per meal than a short one. The pace ramps up too — the snake speeds up every five foods eaten, starting at a comfortable cruise and eventually hitting a blistering top speed. In daily mode, everyone plays the exact same seeded food sequence, so the leaderboard comes down to pure skill.

How to play

On desktop, steer with the arrow keys or WASD. The snake never stops moving; your only job is choosing where it turns. Quick double-turns are buffered, so you can tap two directions in fast succession and the snake will execute both — essential for tight S-bends at high speed.

On mobile, swipe anywhere on the board in the direction you want to turn, or use the on-screen D-pad at the bottom of the arena. Both work at any speed, and the same two-input buffer keeps fast maneuvers responsive under your thumb.

A few rules to remember: the walls are deadly (there is no wrap-around), running into your own body ends the run, and reversing directly into yourself is simply ignored — the game won't let you throw a run away with one accidental key press.

Strategy tips

1. Hug the edges early. Sweeping the perimeter keeps the middle of the board open, which is exactly where you'll need space once the snake gets long.
2. Think two turns ahead. The input buffer holds two direction changes. At top speed you don't have time to react cell by cell — plan the turn after the one you're making now.
3. Use the boustrophedon. Long snakes survive by mowing the board in tight S-shaped rows, like a lawnmower. It looks boring; it wins games.
4. Don't sprint at the food. A food orb in a cramped corner can cost you the run. Sometimes the right play is a longer, safer path — the food never disappears.
5. Leave an exit. Before entering any pocket of the board, ask where you'll leave from. Trapping yourself inside your own coils is how most good runs end.

FAQ

What's a good score in Snake?

Anything above 300 points is a solid run — that's roughly 25 foods. Passing 1,000 puts you well into expert territory, and scores beyond 2,500 require near-perfect lawnmower play at maximum speed.

Does the snake speed up forever?

No. It starts moving every 150 milliseconds and speeds up one step every 5 foods, reaching its top speed of one move every 50 milliseconds after 10 foods. From there the speed stays constant — the challenge shifts to managing your growing length.

Is the daily challenge the same for everyone?

Yes. Daily mode uses a shared seed, so every player faces the identical sequence of food positions. It's the fairest way to compare scores — same board, same food, different nerves.

Why did my swipe not register?

Swipes need to travel a small distance to be distinguished from taps. If you're playing at high speed, the on-screen D-pad can be more reliable than swiping — and remember that reversing straight into your own body is deliberately ignored rather than being an instant death.

Can the snake fill the entire board?

In theory, yes — a 400-segment snake covering every cell. If you ever manage a perfect game, the run ends in victory because there is nowhere left for food to spawn. We would love to see it.