Online Snake Game

Score

Best

Length

Level

Combo

x{{ combo }}

Time

Slow

{{ focusSeconds }}s

Bonus

{{ bonusSeconds }}s

Next level in {{ applesUntilLevel }} apples • {{ applesIntoLevel }}/{{ applesPerLevel }}

Graphics unavailable. Try another browser or device.

Snake

Choose a pace, then stay alive long enough to build a strong chain.

Sprint from apple to apple to raise your combo multiplier and unlock brief slow-mo boosts.

Controls

↑ ↓ ← → WASD

move

P Space

pause/resume

restart

fullscreen

mute

Paused

Press P or tap Resume to continue.

Game Over

Run Summary

Chain ended. Check your level, apples, and combo before the next run.

Final Score {{ runSummary.score }}

Score{{ runSummary.score }}
Level{{ runSummary.level }}
Time{{ runSummaryTimeLabel }}
Length{{ runSummary.length }}
Apples{{ runSummary.apples }}
Max combox{{ runSummary.combo }}
Crash{{ runSummary.reason }}

Grid Trails

Walls

Wrap Solid

Metric	Value	Copy
{{ row.label }}	{{ row.value }}

Time	Event	Value	Detail	Copy
{{ row.time }}	{{ row.event }}	{{ row.value }}	{{ row.detail }}

Run	Preset	Score	Apples	Duration	Crash	Copy
{{ row.run }}	{{ row.preset }}	{{ row.score }}	{{ row.apples }}	{{ row.duration }}	{{ row.reason }}

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Snake is a grid movement game about space management under constant motion. The head moves one cell at a time, the body follows, and every apple makes future turns tighter because the safe route behind you becomes part of the obstacle field. A short run can be about reflexes, but a better run comes from leaving escape lanes open before the board feels crowded.

A gridded Snake board showing a growing route, an apple, and the difference between wrap edges and solid walls

The classic form became famous because the rules are readable within seconds. Direction choices are limited to up, down, left, and right; direct reversal is blocked because turning into the first body segment would end the run unfairly; food adds length; collision ends the attempt. Those simple rules create a useful practice loop because improvement is visible in cleaner routes, longer survival, and fewer rushed turns.

The hardest part is that the board changes after every success. An apple near the edge may look inviting, but it can pull the head into a narrow lane where the body arrives a few moves later. A safer plan often leaves a broad loop through the center, delays risky corners, and treats the border rule as part of the route rather than a last-second rescue.

Scores from one Snake version do not transfer cleanly to another. Board size, wall handling, speed, bonus rules, and score multipliers all change what a strong run means. Use the result as a record of this rule set, then compare runs made with the same pace and border setting.

Technical Details:

The board uses 20 columns and 20 rows. The snake starts near the center with three segments and moves one grid cell per movement tick. The head receives queued direction changes, the body follows by adding a new head position, and the tail is removed unless an apple was collected on that tick. That head-and-tail update is what makes the line appear to glide across a grid while keeping the rules exact.

Movement accepts only the four cardinal directions. A direct 180-degree turn is rejected by comparing the next direction with the current direction or the latest queued direction. Up to three queued turns can wait for the next ticks, so quick key presses can be registered without letting the head reverse into the body.

The border rule changes the same coordinate update into two different games. With Wrap, a head position that crosses the left, right, top, or bottom edge is mapped to the opposite edge using modular arithmetic. With Solid, any move outside the 20 by 20 bounds ends the run. Body collision is always fatal except for the normal case where the tail is leaving the target cell on a non-apple move.

Formula Core

Scoring and pace are deterministic once the apple timing, level, and preset are known. The random part is where apples and bonuses appear on open cells.

\begin{array}{lcl} {ΔS}_{apple} & = & 10 \times m \\ L & = & 1 + ⌊ \frac{A}{5} ⌋ \\ T & = & clamp (B - 7 \times (L - 1) + F, 60, 260) \end{array}

Snake scoring and timing variables
Symbol	Meaning	Value or range	How it changes the run
`m`	Combo multiplier	x1 to x5	Rises by one step when apples are collected within 6000 ms of each other.
`A`	Apples collected	Integer	Raises the level every five apples and grows the snake by one segment per apple.
`L`	Level	1 and up	Higher levels shorten the movement tick by 7 ms per level after Level 1.
`B`	Base preset tick	190, 130, or 90 ms	Comes from Slow, Medium, or Fast at the start of the run.
`F`	Focus timing offset	0 or 24 ms	Adds time to each tick while the slow-motion focus state is active.
`T`	Effective movement tick	60 to 260 ms	Lower values make the snake update faster.

Rule Core

Snake rule events and effects
Event	Trigger	Effect
Apple pickup	The head reaches the apple cell	Adds `10 x Combo` points, grows the snake, places another apple, and updates level progress.
Combo increase	The next apple arrives within 6000 ms	Raises `Combo` by one up to x5 and updates `Max combo` for the summary.
Level increase	`Apples collected` reaches a multiple of five	Raises `Level` and makes movement faster unless focus timing is active.
Focus boost	`Combo` reaches x3, or a slow bonus is collected	Extends the slow-motion timer, shown as `Slow` while active.
Burst bonus	A bonus created by a combo of x4 or higher is collected	Adds `35 + 5 x Level` points and clears the bonus pickup.
Game over	The head hits the body or crosses a solid border	Stops the run, checks `Best score`, and records the final summary values.

Outputs And Stored State

Snake output fields and meanings
Output	Format	Meaning
`Score`	Integer	Total apple points plus any burst bonuses.
`Best score`	Integer	Highest score saved in local browser storage for the same device and browser profile.
`Snake length`	Segments	Starts at three and increases by one for every apple collected.
`Level reached`	Integer	Derived from apples collected, with Level 2 beginning at five apples and Level 3 at ten.
`Run duration`	mm:ss	Elapsed active play time; paused time is not counted.
`Walls`	Wrap or Solid	Records the border rule used for that run summary.
`Grid / Trails`	On / Off	Records visual aids. They change readability, not score rules.

Apple and bonus placement uses open cells only. If random placement cannot find a usable cell quickly, the scan falls back to the first available cell on the board, which prevents a target from appearing inside the snake, on the existing apple, or on an existing bonus pickup.

Everyday Use & Decision Guide:

Start with Medium and Wrap if you want a readable baseline. Medium is quick enough to punish late turns, while Wrap lets you learn the full board without losing every run to a missed edge. Switch to Solid when you want border mistakes to count immediately.

Slow is better for route practice, especially if you crash before the snake reaches double-digit length. Fast is better after you can already keep lanes open and want the score to reflect faster decisions. Keep the same preset for several attempts before judging whether the run summaries are improving.

Use Grid when you are practicing exact turns around the apple or your own body.
Use Trails when the route feels hard to read after quick direction changes.
Read Next level in during the run so you know when the pace is about to tighten.
Watch Bonus when a pickup appears. It expires after a short timer, so a risky chase can cost more than it gives.
Use Pause for interruptions rather than letting a live run drift into a wall.

The most useful comparison keeps Speed and Walls fixed. A Medium Wrap run and a Fast Solid run are different tests, even if the final Score looks similar. Visual aids matter less because they do not change the scoring or collision rules.

Do not treat a high score as proof of cleaner play by itself. Combo and burst bonuses can lift a score quickly, so check Apples collected, Level reached, Run duration, and Max combo before deciding whether a run was steadier or simply lucky.

Step-by-Step Guide:

Use one setup long enough for the summary table to become a fair checkpoint.

Choose Slow, Medium, or Fast from the opening overlay. The run starts immediately after the preset is selected, and the status bar begins at Score 0, Length 3, and Level 1.
Set Walls to Wrap for edge-to-edge routes or Solid for stricter border practice. The border color changes with the mode, and the final summary records the same Walls value.
Toggle Grid and Trails before the board gets crowded. The summary later records Grid / Trails, so you can tell whether a comparison used the same visual aids.
Move with the arrow keys or the touch buttons. Press P or the Pause button if you need to stop, R to restart, F for Fullscreen, and M or Mute to silence sound.
Collect apples while watching Combo, Slow, Bonus, and the next-level progress line. If Graphics unavailable appears instead of the board, use a current browser with WebGL enabled and reload before starting a new run.
After a crash, read the Run Summary before pressing Restart. Compare Final Score with Level, Time, Length, Apples, and Max combo so the next run has a clear target.

Interpreting Results:

Score is the headline, but it mixes several signals: apples, combo timing, and burst bonuses. Apples collected and Snake length tell you how much of the board you survived with, while Level reached tells you whether the speed increase arrived and how long you handled it.

Level reached 1 means fewer than five apples. Level 2 begins at five apples, and Level 3 begins at ten apples.
Max combo x4 or x5 shows fast apple chaining, but it does not prove the whole route was safe.
Best score is local to the current browser profile. It is not an account ranking and does not follow you to another device.
Walls must match when comparing runs. Wrap can save edge mistakes that Solid would count as crashes.

Snake scores have no monetary value. Treat each result as practice feedback from this rule set, then verify improvement by repeating the same preset and wall mode and looking for better survival, more apples, or a higher level rather than one isolated score jump.

Worked Examples:

A Medium Wrap practice run might finish with Score 245, Snake length 14, Level reached 3, Run duration 02:06, Apples collected 11, and Max combo x4. That is a useful baseline because it crossed both the five-apple and ten-apple level thresholds while keeping the combo alive at least briefly.

A Solid-wall run that ends with Apples collected 4, Snake length 7, and Level reached 1 is close to its first speed increase but never reaches it. If the crash came from crossing the border, repeat with the same preset and practice turning one cell earlier rather than switching to Wrap and comparing the scores as if the rules stayed equal.

A troubleshooting example is a run where the score rises quickly after a burst bonus, but Run duration is only 00:38 and Apples collected is 6. That result shows an explosive opening, not a stable route. For the next attempt, keep the same preset, ignore risky bonus chases near the body, and aim for Level 3 before worrying about a larger combo.

FAQ:

Why did my combo reset?

The combo window is 6000 ms. If the next apple arrives after that window, Combo returns to x1 even if the run is otherwise going well.

What is the difference between Wrap and Solid?

Wrap maps an edge crossing to the opposite edge. Solid treats the same crossing as a crash, so Solid summaries should be compared only with other Solid summaries.

Does Best score stay after a refresh?

Usually yes. Best score is saved in local browser storage for the current browser profile, so clearing browser data or using another profile can reset what you see.

Why did a bonus disappear before I reached it?

Bonus pickups have a short countdown shown by Bonus. If the countdown reaches zero, the pickup is removed and the route should return to apple collection.

What should I do if the board does not appear?

If the game shows Graphics unavailable, the browser could not initialize the visual playfield. Try a current browser with WebGL enabled, then reload and choose a speed preset again.

Glossary:

Apple: The target pickup that adds score, increases snake length, and advances level progress.
Combo: The apple streak multiplier that rises when apples are collected within the six-second window.
Focus boost: The temporary slow-motion state that adds 24 ms to the movement tick while active.
Movement tick: The timed step that moves the snake one grid cell in the current direction.
Wrap: The wall mode where crossing one edge reappears on the opposite edge.
Solid: The wall mode where crossing the board edge ends the run.

References:

History of Nokia part 2: Snake, Microsoft Devices Blog, January 20, 2009.
Chapter 22: Snake Game Mechanics, MonoGame documentation.
Window: localStorage property, MDN Web Docs.