Snake Game Tips: 8 Ways to a Higher Score

Snake looks like a reflex game, and early on it is. But past a length of 20 or so, runs are won and lost by planning: where the body will be, where the open space is, and where the next fruit will land. These tips are what separates a score of 15 from a score of 60.

You can try every one in Snake on HulaGames, free in your browser: swipe to turn, eat the mangoes, and don’t hit the walls or your own tail.

1. Use the walls, don’t fear them

A wall is only dangerous when you hit it head on. Running alongside one is the safest place on the board: nothing can come at you from that side. Strong players spend most of a long run tracing the edges.

2. Keep the open space in one piece

The real enemy late in a run is a pocket: a patch of open board your own body has walled off. Before you turn, ask whether the turn splits the free space in two. If it does, pick the side that’s bigger, or don’t turn yet.

3. Mow the lawn

When the snake gets long, stop chasing fruit in straight lines. Sweep the board in tight back-and-forth rows instead, one side to the other. Your body packs neatly behind you, the space ahead stays open, and the fruit will fall in your path soon enough.

4. Follow your tail

Your tail is always moving out of the way, so the cell it just left is the one cell you know will be free. When you’re in trouble, turn toward your tail and follow it. It buys time until a way out opens.

5. Plan the turn before the fruit

Don’t steer straight at a fruit and decide what to do when you get there. Before you eat it, know which way you’ll turn next. On HulaGames a faint dotted ring shows where the next fruit will land, so you can line up two fruit at once.

6. Stay calm as it speeds up

Every fruit makes the snake a little faster, so the same move that was easy at the start needs an earlier swipe later. Turn one cell sooner than feels right, and favour long, simple lines over tricky zig-zags.

7. Grab bonus fruit only when it’s safe

Many versions have a bonus fruit that’s worth more but doesn’t last. On HulaGames every 10th fruit is a gold pineapple worth 5 points for 6 seconds. It’s worth a detour across open board, but never worth cutting through a gap you can’t get back out of.

8. Practice the same board

A random board teaches you random lessons. The Daily on HulaGames gives everyone the same fruit in the same places, so you can practice today’s path after your counted run and see exactly where a better plan beats your first try. Then share your score and see if a friend can beat it on the same fruit. If you like a short game a day, here’s how to build a daily puzzle habit, and how weekly leaderboards rank your best runs.

Quick checklist

• Run along the walls.
• Never split the open space.
• Sweep in rows when you’re long.
• Follow your tail when you’re stuck.
• Know your next turn before you eat.