Snake looks simple: eat, grow, don’t crash. Then your line gets long, the speed creeps up, and one lazy turn ends a round that was going beautifully. I have lost more rounds that way than I want to admit while testing the snakes in this arcade, so here is everything that helped me get better, first the habits that work in any snake game, then specific tricks for some of our snake games online.
How the snakes here work
All of our snakes share the same basic rules, so it helps to know them:
- Every treat makes your line one longer and a little faster. The speed stops rising after roughly twenty treats, so the early part of a round is also the slowest part.
- Every 5 treats a bonus appears for 6 seconds. It is worth 50 points, the same as five normal treats, and it blinks just before it disappears.
- Running into a wall or into your own line ends the round (one of them has no walls at all, more on that below). You can never turn straight back into yourself.
- Quick key presses are remembered in order. Press up and then left quickly and the snake will do both turns, one after the other.
Each game then adds its own twist on top. More on those below.
Seven habits that raise any snake score
1. Always leave yourself an exit
The most common way to lose is not hitting a wall, it is driving into a pocket that is smaller than your own line. Before you go into a narrow space, ask: when I have eaten this, how do I get out? If the answer is “I don’t know”, go the long way round.
2. Follow your tail
The safest square on the whole board is the one your tail is about to leave. When you feel boxed in, chase your own tail. It always moves out of the way just in time, and it buys you a few seconds to think.
3. Use the middle early, the edges late
While the line is short, cut straight through the middle to each treat; speed matters more than safety. Once the line is long, move along the edges and sweep the board in wide, tidy loops. A long snake in neat lanes is calm. A long snake in a knot is about to lose.
4. Make tight turns with two quick presses
Because quick presses are remembered, you can make a perfect U-turn by pressing two directions one right after the other (for example up, then left). This is how you squeeze through a gap one square wide without turning too early. On a phone, use two short, clean swipes.
5. Don’t chase the bonus blindly
A bonus is worth a lot, but it is only worth it if you get there and can still get out. If it appears on the far side of your own line, let it go. If it is close and the path back is clear, take it at once: it only waits 6 seconds.
6. Slow down your head, not your hands
The game gets faster, but your decisions don’t need to. Look one or two turns ahead instead of only at the square in front of you. If it gets too much, press P or Esc to pause, breathe, and look at the board before carrying on.
7. Play five rounds with one goal
Pick one habit, say “always leave an exit”, and play five rounds thinking only about that. It feels slow, but it is how new habits stick. Your high score usually jumps the round after you stop thinking about it.
Tips for each twist
Every snake in the arcade changes one rule, and the best strategy changes with it. Here are tricks for some of my favourites.
Tick-Tock Trot: use the missing walls
In Tick-Tock Trot the grid has no walls: leave one side and pixel Einstein comes back on the other. That makes the far edge a shortcut, so a treat on the opposite side may be only two steps away. The only danger is your own line, so watch where your tail is coming back in before you cross an edge.
Tick-Tock TrotLead a line of wind-up clocks across a chalk grid.PLAY
Whisker Court: plan the 1, 2, 3 route
In Whisker Court three numbered fish wait at once. Eating them in order 1, 2, 3 earns a 50-point bonus; grabbing one out of order scores only 5 and resets the set. Before you move, trace the route through all three. The long way to fish number 1 often pays far more than the fish right under your nose.
Whisker CourtLead the royal cats to a fish supper.PLAY
Luggage Line-Up: cash in at the right moment
In Luggage Line-Up, pixel Ramón opens a platform exit after every 6 tickets. Rolling your suitcases out pays more for every one beyond the first two, and your line gets short again afterwards. So the exit is two things: a bonus and an escape. If the hall is getting crowded, cash in early and start again with room to breathe.
Luggage Line-UpRoll a line of lost suitcases to the night train.PLAY
Piggy Bank Rally: wait for green
In Piggy Bank Rally every gold bar’s value rises and falls between 5 and 40. The number turns green while it climbs and red while it falls. Circle close to the bar while it is green and take it near the top. Patience pays here, but only if you have space to circle. (It is only a game, not financial advice.)
Piggy Bank RallyLead a line of piggy banks across the trading floor.PLAY
Tortoise Trail and Waddle Theory: aim ahead
Some treats move. In Tortoise Trail the prickly-pear pads hop to a neighbouring square every few steps, and in Waddle Theory the apples fall down the lawn one row at a time. In both, aim for where the treat will be, not where it is. In Waddle Theory, park just below an apple and let it drop into your path.
Tortoise TrailLead a line of baby tortoises to lunch.PLAY
Waddle TheoryLead a line of ducklings to the apples.PLAY
Pigeon Promenade: pass close, don’t steer onto it
In Pigeon Promenade seed near pixel Tesla slides towards him by itself. You don’t need to hit it exactly: pass within a few squares and let it come to you. When the flock is long, that small pull saves a lot of risky turns.
Pigeon PromenadeLead a flock of pigeons on an evening walk.PLAY
Clockwork Ducklings: read the blinking blots
In Clockwork Ducklings every paint pot leaves a wet blot that blocks its square for 10 seconds. Blots blink just before they dry, so a blinking blot is a door about to open. Plan your path through it rather than around it.
Clockwork DucklingsLead a line of wind-up wooden ducklings to market.PLAY
Ballroom Minuet: line up slow, eat fast
In Ballroom Minuet the music switches between a calm Andante and a quick Allegro every 4 seconds, and Allegro pays double. Use the calm bars to get in line with the next bell, then ring it when the music speeds up.
Ballroom MinuetLead a line of dancing notes around the ballroom.PLAY
Glow Cart Chain: remember where you have been
In Glow Cart Chain the lab is dark and only the glow around pixel Marie Curie shows the walls and carts. The crystals always shine, so you can see your goal but not your own line. Move in tidy loops so you always know where your carts are, even when you can’t see them.
Glow Cart ChainLead a chain of glowing lab carts across the floor.PLAY
Backlink Chain: look at your tail first
In Backlink Chain every link you collect flips the chain, so the tail becomes the head. Before each link, check where your tail is pointing, because that is the way you will go next. If your tail faces a wall, grab the link later.
Backlink ChainGrow a chain of links that flips with every link.PLAY
Keep playing
Every game ends with your score and a button to share it, so the best practice partner is a friend who thinks they are better than you. If you want to try a new twist, the snake page shows every one of our snakes with a line on what makes it different. Pick one you have never played, use the habits above, and see how long your line can get.