How the daily run works
- The board is 16 squares across and 22 down, and every edge wraps: off the right side, back in on the left of the same row.
- The walls are two to four short pieces (straight bars, L shapes and small boxes with a one-square tunnel through them), mirrored left to right. There are never many, and there are no dead ends.
- There are one or two pairs of portals. Go into one and you come out of its twin, still heading the same way.
- Each apple is a point. Every fifth apple grows you by two squares instead of one. The snake speeds up from about six squares a second to about ten once you've eaten thirty.
- The run ends after sixty seconds of moving, or when you hit a wall or your own body. A crash keeps your score.
The snake waits after you press Play, and the clock doesn't start until your first swipe. Look at the maze and plan your first route before you move.
Read the maze before you set off
- It's a mirror. Learn the left half and you know the right.
- Portals are sideways jumps. Twins sit on the same row, mirrored across the middle, so a portal on the left takes you to the matching spot on the right.
- Tunnels commit you. The tunnel through a box is one square wide: once your head is in, you go straight through, so line up before you enter.
- Same maze, same first apple. Everyone gets the same walls, portals and first apple, and you can run the daily again as often as you like; your best score is kept. Use a second run to learn the opening.
Steering with a swipe
Swipe anywhere on the board: a short flick is enough. You don't need to lift your thumb between turns; keep it down and change direction to chain turns together.
- Turn a square early. A turn happens on the snake's next step, and at full speed that comes quickly.
- Two turns can wait in line. Two quick swipes, say up then left while moving right, make a tight U-turn into the next row. A third swipe before those two are used is ignored.
- Backwards does nothing. A swipe straight back the way you came is ignored, so a fumbled flick won't fold you onto yourself. Nor does a swipe the way you're already going.
Prefer buttons? Tap the arrows under the board. On a computer, use the arrow keys or WASD; Space pauses, and the game pauses itself if you switch away.
Use the wrap and the portals
The quickest route to an apple is often off the edge. The board is 16 wide, so an apple more than eight columns away is nearer the other way round. It's 22 tall, so the same goes for an apple more than eleven rows away.
Portals keep your direction, so check what lies beyond the far twin before you go in:
- Enter moving up or down and you carry on up or down, shifted across the board. That's the use most people miss: a quick sidestep to the other half.
- Enter moving across and you keep going the same way from the twin.
Your body follows you through, so for a moment you're on both sides of the board. Don't turn back towards the portal you just used.
Playing the clock
A crash keeps your score but ends the run, so the cost of a risky shortcut is whatever you'd have eaten in the time left. Early in the run that's a lot: take the safe route. With a few seconds left it's almost nothing, so that's the time to cut corners.
You can move into the square your tail is just leaving, unless you've just eaten and are still growing. Following your own tail is a safe way to wait while you work out a route.
When the snake gets long, stop zigzagging across open space. Keep your body to one side so the open part of the board stays in one piece.
The revive
Once per daily run, if you crash with more than five seconds left and at least three apples, you can take a revive and carry on, free while Suvi is new. You go back to the start square, three squares long, with your score kept, and the clock waits for your next swipe. A short snake again is a real help late in a run, so it's often worth it. Classic has no revive.
Classic mode, and three things to remember
Classic is an open board that wraps, with no walls, no portals and no clock; your best length is kept. The speed stops rising at thirty apples, so after that it's about space, not reflexes. Sweep the board in lanes: run a row, U-turn with two swipes, run the next one back. Your body fills the board in order and the open space stays in one piece.
- Plan the first route before you swipe: the clock waits.
- Use the wrap and the sideways portal jump.
- Play safe early, take risks only at the very end.
Try it on today's maze.
Questions
- Why didn't my turn happen?
- A swipe straight back the way you're going is ignored, as is a swipe the way you're already heading, and only two turns can wait in line at once. A turn also takes effect on the next step, so at speed swipe a square early.
- Does crashing lose my score?
- No. The run ends but every apple you ate counts, and you can run the daily maze again to try for a better score.
- Does the clock run before I move?
- No. The sixty seconds only count while the snake is moving. It waits for your first swipe at the start and again after a revive.
- Can I go through my own tail?
- You can move into the square your tail is leaving, as long as you aren't still growing from an apple. Any other part of your body ends the run.
Play it now
Snake is free on Suvi, on your phone or computer, no download. Also: Snake Classic.