Snake High Score Tips: How to Get a Big Score in Nokia Snake

Everyone knew one kid who was unbeatable at Snake. They'd hand you the phone with a score you'd never seen before, and smile. You'd try for an hour. You'd lose every time.

Here's the secret they never told you. They weren't faster than you. They were calmer, and they had a plan.

1. Play on the highest level you can survive

Higher levels pay more for every dot. On our version, a dot on level 9 is worth nine dots on level 1. Even if you crash sooner, you'll often beat a long, careful level 1 game. Start on a middle level, and move up as soon as it starts feeling slow.

2. Hug the walls early

When your snake is short, keep it near the edges. This leaves the middle of the board open, so you always have space to turn into later.

3. Learn the zig-zag sweep

Once the snake is long, stop chasing dots. Instead, sweep the board in rows: go all the way across, drop down one, come all the way back, drop down again. Your body trails neatly behind you and the dot will always be somewhere on your path.

It feels slow. It's not. It's the only way to survive when your snake is half the screen.

4. Never turn into a dead end

Before every turn, ask one question: "Is there a way out of where I'm going?" If your body is wrapped around a pocket of space, don't enter it, no matter how close the dot is.

5. Turn one block early, not late

At high speed, the most common crash is a late turn into a wall. Train your thumb to tap a moment before you need to. On level 9 the snake moves far faster than your reflexes, so play from memory and rhythm, not reaction.

6. Don't chase the bonus

On versions with bonus creatures, grabbing one across open board is how most good runs end. If it's in your path, take it. If it isn't, let it go.

Practise now

Our Snake uses the classic scoring, so these tips work exactly the same. Pick a level, try the sweep, and see how far you get.

New to the game? Start with how to play Nokia Snake, or go back to the complete Nokia Snake guide.