New high score
Play the classic snake game online: steer the snake to the gold nuts, grow longer and avoid the walls and your own tail. Choose classic walls or wrap-around, four speeds and an optional speed-up mode. It runs smoothly on phones with swipe or a direction pad, and on computers with arrows or WASD.
How to use
- Press Play, an arrow key or swipe on the board to start.
- Steer the snake to the gold nuts. Each one adds a point and makes the snake longer.
- In Classic the edge is a wall. In No walls you leave one side and come back on the other.
- Don’t run into your own tail. Pick a speed above the board, or turn on Speed up as you grow in Options.
- Press Space to pause. The game pauses by itself when you switch tabs and is still there after a reload.
- You can queue up to three turns, so quick double turns like a U-turn are not lost.
- High scores are kept separately for each mode and speed, in this browser only.
- On phones, swipe anywhere on the board or turn on the on-screen direction pad in Options.
How the game works
The board is 18 × 18 squares and the snake starts three squares long. Every nut adds one point and one square of length. In Classic, touching the edge ends the game; in No walls the snake leaves one side and comes back on the opposite side, so only your own tail can stop you.
Speeds are fixed steps per second: Slow moves a square every 165 ms (about 6 per second), Normal every 120 ms, Fast every 85 ms and Very fast every 58 ms. With Speed up as you grow, each nut makes the snake about 4% faster, down to one step every 45 ms.
Tips for a higher score
Keep the snake moving along the edges and in long zigzags instead of chasing each nut directly, so your body never cuts the board in two. Leave an open path back to the free area before you turn into a corner. Turns are queued, up to three at a time, so a fast double turn for a U-turn is not lost. High scores are kept separately for each mode and speed, so a Very fast record is not compared with a Slow one.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play snake on a phone?
Swipe anywhere on the board in the direction you want to go. If you prefer buttons, turn on the on-screen direction pad in Options.
What is the difference between Classic and No walls?
In Classic the edge of the board is a wall that ends the game. In No walls you pass through one edge and appear on the opposite side.
What is the highest possible score in snake?
On an 18 × 18 board there are 324 squares. The snake starts with 3, so filling the board would take 321 nuts.
Can I pause the game?
Yes. Press Space or the pause button. The game also pauses by itself when you switch tabs and is still there after a reload.
Why did my turn not register?
The snake cannot reverse into itself, so pressing the opposite direction is ignored. Other turns are queued, up to three in a row.
Where are my high scores saved?
In this browser only, one record per mode and speed. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account.