Snake
How to play Snake
The 1997-Nokia classic, unhurried: steer the snake, eat the apple, grow one segment, repeat. The run ends when you hit a wall or your own body — then any key deals you straight into the next one. No lives, no countdown, no penalty for quitting mid-run.
- Press an arrow key or WASD to start moving.
- Each apple eaten grows the snake by one and scores a point.
- Walls and your own body end the run.
- Switch tabs any time — the game pauses itself and waits for you.
Tips
- Think in corridors, not turns. Sweeping the grid in long rows keeps your body organized and leaves the middle open.
- The tail is a door, not a wall. The cell your tail is leaving this tick is safe to enter — late-game survival is mostly tail-chasing.
- Buffer your corners. Two quick inputs queue up, so you can tap a sharp U-turn ahead of time instead of racing the tick.
- Don't hug walls for food. Grab wall-adjacent apples on a path that turns away, never head-on with no exit.
Frequently asked questions
What are the controls for Snake?
Arrow keys or WASD steer the snake; any of them also starts a run, and after a game ends any key starts the next one. The snake can't reverse into itself, so pressing the opposite of your current direction is simply ignored.
How do you get better at Snake?
Stay off the walls and cross the middle only when you need to — the edges cost you escape routes. Establish a habit of sweeping in rows or a big loop early, and when the snake gets long, chase your own tail: the cell your tail just left is always safe to enter.
Does Snake pause when I switch tabs or apps?
Yes, automatically. The moment you switch to another tab or click into another app the game freezes, and it waits for a keypress when you come back. Alt-tabbing to your editor mid-run costs nothing — that's a site-wide rule here, not a setting.
Why does the snake die when it eats its own tail?
Running into any part of your own body ends the run — that's the classic rule that makes length a difficulty curve. One nuance this version gets right: moving into the square your tail is just vacating is survival, not death, because the tail moves out on the same tick.
More games
- Crazy Eights — The classic shedding card game — match rank or suit, eights are wild. Beatable AI, no timer, drop it any time.
- Klondike Solitaire — The classic solitaire — with every deal guaranteed winnable. Unlimited undo, no timer, and a shared Daily Deal.