Classic Snake
The timeless Nokia classic - eat food, grow longer, don't bite yourself. One of the most played games in human history, originally shipped on Nokia phones in 1998. How long can you survive? A true test of reflexes and spatial awareness that never gets old.
What Snake is
Snake is one of the oldest ideas in video games - a line that grows longer every time it eats and dies if it touches itself. Versions of it existed in arcades in the 1970s, but it reached most people through mobile phones, where it was preinstalled and could be played one-handed while waiting for something.
Its endurance comes from the fact that the difficulty is entirely self-inflicted. Nothing chases you. There is no timer and no enemy. The only thing that can kill you is the length you have earned, which makes it one of the purest examples of a game that gets harder because you are doing well.
How to score higher
The strategy that separates a score of 30 from a score of 300 is filling the board in a pattern rather than chasing food directly. Experienced players run a boustrophedon route - up one column, down the next - which guarantees they sweep every square and never trap themselves.
The other half is leaving yourself an exit. Before committing to a route into a corner, check that the tail will have moved out of the way by the time you get there. Most deaths in Snake happen because a player took the shortest path to the food instead of the safest one.
Tips worth knowing
- Hug the edges early. The middle of the board is where you trap yourself.
- Follow your own tail when you are unsure. It is always moving away from you, so it is always a safe path.
- Never enter a space with only one exit unless you have counted that the tail clears it first.
- Take the long route to food when the short route cuts the board in half. Splitting the board is what kills long runs.
- Speed usually scales with length, so the last few points are far harder than the first fifty.
Frequently asked questions
How do you get a high score in Snake?
Sweep the board in a regular pattern instead of chasing food directly, keep to the edges, and never enter a space that has only one way out.
Does Snake get faster as you play?
In most versions yes, the snake speeds up as it grows, which is why long runs get sharply harder rather than just longer.
Can you win Snake?
Only by filling the entire board, which is possible in theory and extremely rare in practice.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It runs directly in your browser with no download or account.
More games like this
our Snake write-up, 2048, Tetris. You can also browse the full games library or read the guides on the blog.