Snake Game Revisited: Surprising facts and fascinating trivia for World Snake Day

July 16th marks World Snake Day – and there’s one snake that everyone loves

Nokia phones brought the iconic Snake game to the limelight in the late nineties. It was an instant hit. Combining a puzzle element with fast-paced movement, Snake is an arcade-style classic that is still played today. But there are a few things about the game you might not know.

1. The first Snake game started out in the arcade

The Snake game we know and love today started out as Blockade, an arcade video game published by game manufacturer Gremlin Industries.¹ But how did we get from “Blockade” to “Snake”? Well, there were quite a few steps in between. “Dominoes” and “Surround” were just two of the titles inspired by the original Blockade. But these were also arcade games. In fact, it took a couple of years for a version of the game to make its way into homes – “Worm” was released for the TRS-80 microcomputer in 1978.² A host of similar games followed, some with “Snake” in their name.

2. The first Nokia phone with Snake was introduced before the Nokia 3310

The first Nokia 3310 landed in 2000, soon establishing itself as one of the most iconic mobile phones prior to the smartphone boom. But, although the Nokia 3310 of the early noughties had a version of Snake – as do today’s Nokia 3310 and Nokia 3310 3G handsets – it was the Nokia 6110 that brought Snake to the mobile phone world for the first time in 1997.

3. There are different versions of Snake available on Nokia phones today

As we mentioned, you’ll find that today’s Nokia 3310 features a version of the Snake game pre-loaded on the phone. This version, called “Snake Xenzia,” is a colorized updated version of the classic game. The bright colours and additional visual details lend a new element of energy to the game while maintaining its retro roots. The Nokia 2660 Flip, and Nokia 2720 Flip, however, feature a version of the game that makes the most of their bigger, sharper screen. This version of Snake has more of an adventure feel to it, sending you on a mission to eat a given number of fruit pieces to open the gate to the next level. The static, boxy arena is replaced by a series of larger levels of various shapes and sizes.

4. You can play several Snake games online right now

On an Android device and don’t already have Snake? Head to snake.googlemaps.com for a quirky take on the game – you’ll play as a train or bus picking up passengers in a major city. But the Snake game mechanics are the same – don’t crash into the sides, or yourself! On a desktop? Google “Play Snake” and play it right from your web browser. There’s a whole load of settings to play with for a variety of different game modes.

5. The Snake game on Google has a bunch of different modes

We just touched on the Snake game accessible by googling “play snake,” but these modes deserve their own mention. There’s one where the fruit teleports you, one where the snake’s body turns into a wall, and there’s even one where you literally can’t lose. On top of those, you can also adjust the speed and grid size. Or, just pick the blender option for a random combination of modes and settings and enjoy countless Snake game challenges.

Final fun take-aways about Snake?

What’s your favorite fun fact or memory of playing the Snake game? Maybe you took away a few things revisiting Snake here with us – or perhaps you’re a retro-game buff who could teach us a thing or two. Either way, we hope that we’ve warmed you up for World Snake Day. Whichever version you play, your high score won’t beat itself!