How to play Snake
You control a small green snake on a 20 by 20 grid. It moves forward on its own, one square at a time, and your only job is to decide which way it turns. Press Play (or press Space, or simply press an arrow key) and the snake sets off to the right.
A glowing red fruit sits somewhere on the board. Guide the snake's head onto it to eat it. Every fruit is worth 10 points, makes the snake one segment longer and nudges the speed up slightly, so the game gets quicker the better you do. A new fruit always appears on an empty square.
The run ends when the head runs into the snake's own body. With Walls: On (the default) touching the edge of the board also ends the game. Switch the menu to Walls: Off and the edges wrap around instead: leave on the right and you reappear on the left. Changing the setting resets the current run.
You cannot reverse straight back into yourself; a turn in the opposite direction is simply ignored. You can queue up to three quick turns in a row, which makes tight U-turns reliable. On a phone, swipe anywhere on the board or use the arrow pad underneath. Press P, Esc or the Pause button to take a break; the game also pauses by itself if you switch tabs. Your best score is saved on this device.
Controls
| Desktop | Arrow keys or W A S D to steer, Space to start, P or Esc to pause |
|---|---|
| Mobile | Swipe on the board or use the on-screen arrow pad to steer; tap Play to start |
Tips and strategy
Keep the middle open
The biggest danger in a long game is not the walls but your own body. Try to leave a large, open area in the centre of the board so you always have somewhere to go after you grab a fruit.
- Travel along the edges when the snake is long; it keeps your body out of the way.
- Avoid cutting the board into two separate pockets with your tail. If the fruit lands in the smaller pocket you may not fit.
- Remember that your tail moves too. A square your tail occupies now will be free after the next step.
Plan the route, not just the next turn
As soon as a new fruit appears, think about how you will get out again after eating it. A fruit tucked into a corner is easy to reach and easy to die in.
- Approach corner fruit from the side that leaves you an exit.
- Use gentle zigzag sweeps across the board rather than sharp spirals late in the game.
- When the speed is high, favour routes with fewer turns; every turn is a chance to mistime a key press.
Use the input buffer
The game remembers up to three turns you press in quick succession. To make a tight U-turn, tap two directions almost at once, for example up then left. This is the safest way to fold the snake back on itself in narrow spaces.
Choosing a wall mode
- Walls On is the classic challenge and rewards careful edge running.
- Walls Off lets you escape through an edge, which is great for practising long snakes, but it is easy to forget that your body can be waiting on the other side.
Above all, stay calm when the snake speeds up. A steady, repeatable pattern beats frantic chasing every time.
About Snake
Snake is one of the oldest ideas in video games. It grew out of arcade games from the 1970s in which players steered a line that left a solid trail behind it, and the formula of a growing line that must avoid itself has been reinvented many times since on home computers and early mobile phones. For many people it was the very first game they played on a handset.
Its lasting appeal comes from a simple rule that creates its own difficulty: every success makes the next move harder, because the snake you have to avoid is the one you built. No enemies are needed.
The version on PlayNook is our own original take, written from scratch for the browser. It adds smooth movement between grid squares, a gradual speed ramp, an optional wrap-around mode and touch controls, and it saves your best score locally so you can keep chasing it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I turn off the walls?
Yes. Use the Walls menu above the board and choose Walls: Off. The snake will then wrap from one edge to the opposite edge instead of crashing. Changing the setting restarts the current run.
Why did my key press not turn the snake around?
The snake cannot reverse directly into its own body, so a press in the exact opposite direction is ignored. To turn around, press two turns in a row, such as up and then left.
Does the game get faster?
Yes. Each fruit you eat speeds the snake up slightly until it reaches a top speed, so longer runs become steadily more demanding.
Where is my best score stored?
Your best score is saved in your browser's local storage on this device. It is not uploaded anywhere, and clearing your site data will reset it.
