Snake guide
The arcade classic: eat, grow, speed up and chase your personal best.
What is Snake?
Snake is a classic arcade game: you steer a snake around a grid to eat food, and every bite makes it longer, until it hits a wall or its own tail. On DD Games it is a free solo game in your browser, with three starting speeds, keyboard, swipe or button controls, and your best score saved on your device.
Snake is one of the simplest games to learn and one of the hardest to master. You only choose the direction; the snake never stops moving, and the longer it grows, the less room you have to turn.
On DD Games the snake starts with three segments in the middle of a 20x20 grid. Every five pieces of food take you up a level, and each level makes the snake about 10 percent faster, so a long run gets tense quickly. Food is worth more points at higher levels.
Pick Slow, Normal or Fast to start. Your best score and your last five runs are kept on this device, so there is always a number to beat.
How to play Snake
- Choose a starting speed (Slow, Normal or Fast) and press Start.
- Steer with the arrow keys or WASD on a keyboard, or swipe and use the on-screen arrow pad on a phone.
- Eat the food to grow one segment longer and score points.
- Every five foods you level up: the snake speeds up and each food is worth more.
- Your run ends when you hit a wall or your own body. Press Space or the pause button to pause.
Rules
- The snake moves continuously; you only change its direction.
- You cannot reverse straight into yourself; the opposite direction is ignored.
- Hitting the edge of the grid or any part of your own body ends the run. There is no wrapping around the edges.
- Each food scores 10 points on level 1 and 5 more for every level after that.
- The game pauses automatically if you switch tabs.
- Fill the entire grid and you win the run outright.
Tips and strategy
- Hug the edges and sweep in lanes once you are long; crossing the middle is where snakes die.
- Plan your path to the food before you turn, not after. Late turns cause self-collisions.
- Press your next direction early. Up to two turns are queued, so two quick taps make a clean U-turn.
- Slower speeds are not easy mode: use them to practise lane patterns before pushing fast.
- Higher levels pay more per food, so surviving longer is worth more than rushing.
- Keep the food in mind but watch your tail: on a long snake, leave yourself a way out before you go for it.
Questions
Can I play Snake online for free without downloading?
Yes. Snake runs in your browser on phones, tablets and computers, free and with nothing to install.
What controls does Snake use?
Arrow keys or WASD on desktop, with Space to pause. On touch devices you can swipe in any direction or tap the on-screen arrows.
Does the snake get faster?
Yes. Every five foods you go up a level and the snake speeds up, until it reaches a top speed.
How do you get points in Snake?
Each piece of food scores 10 points on level 1 and 5 more for every level above that. You level up every five foods.
Which Snake speed should I choose?
Slow gives you the most time to react and is good for practice; Fast starts quicker and gets hard sooner. Whatever you pick, the snake speeds up as you level up.
Is my Snake high score saved?
Yes. Your best score and your last five runs are stored in your browser, so they are waiting for you next time on the same device.
Does Snake have multiplayer?
No. Snake is a solo score chase. For head-to-head play try Connect Four, Tic Tac Toe or Ludo.
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