Snake controls and planning space after a turn

Choose the board size and pace

Standard play offers 8×8, 12×12 or 16×16 boards, with Speed up as you grow or Steady and relaxed pace. A steady pace is useful for learning the interval between steps and the moment an input takes effect. A larger board still loses usable corridors as the body grows.

Start / Resume begins movement after a countdown. Direction controls operate while the snake is moving. The saved run retains the body and layout, so inspect the head’s direction and nearby walls before restarting.

Change direction one step at a time

Use direction buttons, arrow keys or a swipe on the board. A snake heading right cannot reverse directly left. Turn up or down, let the head take that step, and then enter the next direction. Entering a body square causes a collision, except that a non-eating step can enter the tail square being vacated on that step.

The game queues only one turn for the next step. Quickly entering up and then left does not queue a two-corner route. Waiting to see the first turn before entering the second makes the sequence easier to control.

Take a right-edge apple, then leave the edge

On an 8×8 board, count rows from the top and columns from the left. Suppose the head is at row 4, column 6, its body at row 4, columns 5 and 4, and it is heading right. An apple is at row 4, column 8; column 7 and row 5, columns 6–8 are clear. Two rightward steps take the apple and grow the body.

Once the head reaches column 8, another rightward step leaves the board. Enter down for the next step. After the head reaches row 5, column 8, enter left. Entering down too soon turns before the apple, so watch the head’s position. This is a route under these local conditions, not a guarantee for later apples.

Check an exit after the apple

On an eating step the tail stays, making the body longer. Reconsider the resulting occupied squares before assuming a corridor remains usable. In a narrow pocket with one entrance, ask whether enough room remains to turn and leave after taking the apple.

A broad region is not reachable if your body cuts across its entrance. Inspect the next square, the square after the turn, and the route back to wider space. A repeated circuit is not automatically safe; its usefulness depends on the current body and obstacles.

Reach the flag after meeting the apple goal

In standard play, apples grow the snake; hitting an obstacle, the board edge or its own body ends the run. In stages, the head must reach the flagged exit after collecting the required apples. Reaching it early does not satisfy the goal.

Once the goal is met, plan for the flag rather than another apple. Check the displayed count and the body and obstacles near the exit. After a collision, recall the last step and input and use that observation to practise the turn at the same pace.

Questions and answers

Can I reverse left while moving right?

No. Turn up or down for a step before changing direction again, and check for body or wall collisions.

Do two quick direction inputs make two turns?

Only one turn is queued for the next step. Watch the first turn happen, then enter the next direction.

Does reaching the stage flag always clear it?

The head must reach the exit after the required apple count has been met.