Snake Games

How it works

A snake game puts you in charge of a line that never stops moving. It travels one square at a time across a walled board, and you can only turn it left or right. Every piece of food you eat makes it one square longer. That is the whole idea, and it is why the game has lasted since the arcade days: the better you play, the longer your snake gets and the less room you have left to play in. A run ends when the head hits a wall, an obstacle or the snake’s own body.

The trap is your past. Every turn you make leaves a trail you will have to steer around later, so a good player is always thinking a few moves ahead about where the tail will be.

What makes a good one

• Turns that feel exact. A quick double turn should land on two steps in a row, not get lost.
• A fair clock. The snake should move at the same pace on a slow phone and a fast computer.
• Instant restarts, because the next run is the fun part.
• Controls that suit the device: swipes or big buttons on a phone, keys or a gamepad on a computer.
• Something to aim for beyond length, so long runs feel different from short ones.

Strategies that help

Hug the walls early. While the snake is short, travelling along the edges keeps the middle open for later.

Plan your tail. The square your tail is about to leave is free on the next step. Count it, and tight spirals become safe.

Loop early. Leave yourself an exit before you dive into a gap. If a space has only one way in, it has only one way out.

Slow your thinking, not your snake. Pick your next two turns before you reach the corner instead of reacting at the last moment.

Our take

Our snake game is Snake Bloom, set in a garden. Wrapping a loop of your own body around a bud makes it bloom, and looping a bramble root clears its thorny vines, so your tail becomes a tool as well as a hazard. There is a three-minute Daily garden that is the same for everyone.