The Snake game is a one-player arcade game: you steer a snake around a grid, eat fruit to grow, and avoid the walls and your own body. On Snake100 you play it free in your browser, with no download and no account. The board is at the top of this page. On a wide screen, press ↑, ↓ or → (or W, S, D) to start. On a phone or a narrow window, tap Play and swipe.
On this page: how to play, how to win, settings, speedrun goals, modes, phone play, history and FAQ.
How to play Snake
The snake moves on its own. All you choose is where it turns.
Goal
Eat as much fruit as you can. In Classic, the plain mode with no extra rule, each fruit adds 1 point and makes the snake one cell longer. The snake starts 4 cells long, facing right.
Controls
- Arrow keys or W A S D steer. Your first key starts the round. The key that points back into the snake (← or A) does nothing until it moves.
- P or Esc pauses. An arrow key, Space or Enter resumes.
- R starts a new round with the same settings, and M turns the sound on or off.
- On a touch screen, swipe anywhere on the board, or set Controls to D-pad in Settings.
- The ? button in the game's header lists every key.
Game over
In Classic, the round ends when the snake's head hits a wall or its own body. A card then shows your score for the round, your best score for these settings and a Play again button.
How to win the Snake game
You win Snake by filling the whole board with the snake. When no free cell is left, the game shows "You win!". In Classic the top score is the number of cells minus the 4 the snake starts with, so a 19×13 board of 247 cells allows 243 points. That figure comes from the game's code; we haven't played a round to a full board yet.
The board size depends on your window. In a 1280×800 browser window we measured 14×10 cells on Small, 19×13 on Medium and 25×18 on Large.
Tips for a longer snake
- Plan two turns ahead. The snake can't reverse into itself, so turning around takes two turns in a row, such as up and then left. The game holds up to two turns in a queue, so you can press both keys quickly.
- Follow your tail. The cell your tail is leaving is free on that same step, so your head can move right behind it. This doesn't apply while the snake is still growing from a fruit.
- Use a loop. A path that visits every cell and returns to its start exists only when the board has an even number of columns or rows. In a 1280×800 window, Small (14×10) and Large (25×18) have one. Medium (19×13) doesn't. The Custom board shows its size, so you can pick an even one.
- Practice on Slow. The snake doesn't speed up during a round, so the pace you pick is the pace you get.
Settings: speed, board size, fruit and colors
On a screen at least 1100 pixels wide, Settings is a column next to the board. Changing the speed, board, number or kind of fruit, snake color or goal there starts a fresh round and ends the one in progress. Theme and sound change at once. On a narrower screen, Settings opens over the board and your changes apply when you press Play or close it.
| Setting | Choices |
|---|---|
| Speed | Slow, Normal or Fast: one cell every 177, 133 or 88 ms. Normal is the default. |
| Board | Small, Medium, Large or Custom. The cell count follows your window; Custom has a slider and shows columns × rows. |
| Count | 1, 3 or 5 fruit on the board at once, or Lots of fruit. |
| Fruit | 8 fruits, or Mixed. |
| Color | 19 snake colors, including gradients and Rainbow. |
| Theme | 9 themes: Meadow, Night, Snow, Volcano, Desert, Forest, Ice, Dusk and Ocean. |
| Goal | No goal, 10, 25, 50 or 100 fruit, or fill the board. |
Speedrun goals and your best score
A goal turns a round into a timed race to a set number of fruit. Pick 10, 25, 50 or 100 fruit, or fill the board, and the header shows your count against the goal with a clock beside it. The clock counts game time from your first move, so pauses and lag don't change it. When you reach the goal the round ends, and a time faster than your saved one shows "New PB!" (personal best). A crash before the goal doesn't set a time.
Your best score is the number next to the trophy. It's saved in this browser for each mode, speed, board size and number of fruit. There is no account and no online leaderboard.
Snake game modes
This Snake game has 22 modes: Classic and 21 that each add a rule. You play one mode at a time. The extra modes are Wall, Borderless, Portal, Poison, Peaceful, Cheese, Twin, Statue, Shield, Magnet, Light, Winged, Hotdog, Bridge, Key, Arrow, Gate, Dimension, Minesweeper, Sokoban and Yin Yang.
On a wide screen, each mode tile in the Settings column opens that mode's page with the board already set to it. On a narrow screen, you pick the mode in Settings. What each mode changes is on the Snake game modes page.
Playing Snake on a phone
On a phone, tap Play, then swipe anywhere on the board to turn. If you prefer buttons, open Settings and set Controls to D-pad. That row appears on touch screens tall enough for the buttons. The gear button pauses the round and opens Settings, and turning the phone sideways pauses the round too.
We checked this in a phone-sized browser window, not on a real phone.
Where Snake comes from
Snake is older than the phone game many people remember. Wikipedia's article on the genre traces it to Blockade, a competitive arcade game from Gremlin Industries released in 1976. Microsoft's Devices Blog says Snake first appeared on a Nokia phone in 1997, on the Nokia 6110, adapted by Taneli Armanto. Both sources were read on November 5, 2026.
This version takes its look and feel from Google Snake: a green checkered board, a blue snake that grows as it eats, and a menu of modes. Snake100 is an unofficial, fan-made game, not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.
Snake game FAQ
Is this Snake game free?
Yes. You play it free in your browser, with no download and no account.
Can you win at Snake?
Yes. You win when the snake fills the whole board and no free cell is left. The game then shows "You win!".
What is the highest score in the Snake game?
On this page, the top score in Classic is the number of cells on your board minus 4, the length the snake starts with. On a 19×13 board that is 243. The board size depends on your window and the Board setting.
Does the snake speed up as it grows?
No. The snake keeps the speed you picked for the whole round: one cell every 177 ms on Slow, 133 ms on Normal or 88 ms on Fast.
How do I pause Snake?
Press P or Esc on a keyboard. On a phone, tap the gear button, which pauses the round and opens Settings. The game also pauses by itself when you switch to another tab.
Does the game save my best score?
Yes, in this browser only. Each mode, speed, board size and number of fruit has its own best score. Clearing site data deletes it.
Is Snake100 affiliated with Google?
No. Snake100 is an unofficial, fan-made game inspired by Google Snake. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.
Last checked on against this version of the game.