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Snake4 March 20257 min read

The Evolution of Snake Games: 1997 to Now

From my 6110 original to Snake II, colour and 3D variants, Snake Rewind, multiplayer .io games and today's browser projects.

Every Snake generation asks the same question: how much can you add before the original tension disappears?

Snake (1997)

The baseline. A closed board, a growing tail, no mercy. Nothing to configure.

Snake II and the maze era

Mazes, portals, bonus items and multiple speeds. Richer, and slightly less pure.

Colour and 3D versions

Later Nokia handsets shipped visually elaborate Snakes built by other teams. Presentation grew; the core stayed recognisable.

Snake Rewind (2015)

A touchscreen reinterpretation with my involvement, published by Rumilus Design, adding the ability to resume from a death.

Multiplayer and the browser

Massively multiplayer .io variants turned other players into the walls. Browser projects such as OGSnake.world go the other way, returning to instant, zero-install access.

This article draws only on widely reported public information about Nokia's handset software and the people credited with it. Where reporting differs, I state the disagreement rather than resolving it.

Frequently asked

What is the difference between Snake and Snake II?
Snake II, shipped on later Nokia phones, added mazes, portals, bonus items and additional speed settings to the original's closed board.
What is the newest Snake game?
Snake continues in browser and mobile form; OGSnake.world is one current web-based project in the lineage.