The goal: collect fruit and stay alive

Guide the snake’s head to the fruit. Each fruit adds points and extends the tail, so the space you can safely use gets smaller as your score rises. Your run ends if the head hits the snake’s body, a wall in Classic mode, or a block in Obstacles mode.

There is no need to rush your first turns. Look at the fruit, check the open lanes between your head and the edge, then choose a direction that leaves you room to continue after the pickup.

Keyboard controls

Use the arrow keys or W, A, S, and D to steer. Space pauses the game and R starts a fresh run. The snake cannot turn straight back into its own neck, so a reverse input will not save a route that has already become unsafe.

Press the direction you want to travel next, not the direction you want the snake to face eventually. At higher speeds, a small delay can put the head several cells past the opening you meant to use.

Play on a phone or tablet

Swipe across the board to steer. Short, deliberate swipes are easier to read than long drags. Keep your thumb away from the fruit and the snake’s path when possible, and pause from the bar above the board if you need to reposition your hand.

On a narrow phone in portrait, the board automatically switches to a vertical 12 × 21 layout with square cells and hides the arrow buttons to give the game more room. Turning the phone sideways switches it back to the desktop 21 × 11 layout.

Understand the four challenges

Classic has solid walls. No Walls wraps the snake to the opposite edge. Obstacles places blocks on the board. Rush increases pressure as the run continues. Each challenge keeps the same board layout for the current screen orientation; only the movement rules change.

Easy, Normal, and Hard set the starting pace. Rush also speeds up as you collect fruit. Scores are listed on the leaderboard for the selected challenge, so compare your result with players who faced the same rules.

Build a calm first run

  1. Begin with Easy or Normal so you have time to recognize the grid.
  2. Collect fruit from the outside of open space instead of cutting through the middle of your body.
  3. Prefer broad turns that keep a second route available.
  4. As the tail grows, watch its movement and avoid entering a lane before it clears.
  5. After a collision, note which turn created the trap and try a wider route next time.

For more advanced routing, read Snake route strategy and the guide to loops and lanes.