Gamers nowadays have no idea how great they’ve got it. Places like Steam, the Xbox Marketplace, and even smartphone services like Google Play offer plenty of excitement and time-sucking stimulation.
But before the digital storefronts, console wars, and endless supply of new video games, there was one digital addiction that towered above all: Snake.
For those of you born after the 90s, Snake may not be a title you’re familiar with, but it’s one our millennial readers will almost certainly recognize.
What you may not recognize is the visual overhaul Google has given it. Instead of the tiny pixels you’d have to squint to perceive while playing on your Nokia, 2025 brings back Snake as a lively, vibrant affair with an actual theme that has plenty to offer for those seeking a hit of nostalgia.
Even newer players keen to test their reflexes will find something to love here. The latest version specifically features a Wood Snake theme, symbolizing growth, creativity, and transformation. You can personalize your snake avatar with different looks, colors, and themes, as well as modify the appearance of collectible items like red envelopes.
But before you can try it out for yourself, you need to know where to find it. And if you want any hope of beating it, you’ll want to read on ahead for our guide to this near-inscrutable little game.
What is the Google Year of the Snake Game?
The story of the genre of games we would later collectively refer to as Snake is almost as old as the Lunar New Year itself! It started in the 1970s, but kids who grew up in the 90s and very early 2000s will already be familiar with the game.
The goal is deliciously simple: guide an ever-expanding “snake” to food while avoiding obstacles, including your own body!
Image credits: Smooth_Zebra / Reddit
But while the roots of Snake are nebulous and almost as old as time by now, this particular iteration first emerged in 2013 as one of the Google Doodles, basically a pre-installed interactable piece of clip art. If you didn’t recognize it then, we couldn’t blame you: the game sure looks different.
For starters, Google’s version of Snake, added back in 2013 to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Snake, which is said to bring good luck, features a fresh and original concept: actual color, to reflect the Asian culture it is trying to emulate!
The Snake we played on our Nokias back in the mid-2000s was decidedly monochromatic.
In fact, we couldn’t even be sure it was an actual snake that we were controlling unless we squinted hard enough!
The game features Lunar New Year symbols like red envelopes, lanterns, and festive snacks that teach players about Chinese traditions related to luck and family.
Image credits: doodles.google
But Google’s Snake is different: it’s a vibrant, fun update to the OG game, decidedly more fast-paced, and with a Chinese and Asian traditional aesthetic that will likely fascinate many.
For example, instead of the usual red apples that older iterations of the titular snake couldn’t get enough of, Google’s snake is much more interested in red envelopes and dumplings.
The game also includes daily challenges that give players fresh objectives to tackle each time they return, keeping the experience fresh for the new year celebrations.
Of course, the challenge is still the same, even if this snake has shed its old skin: you’ll need to dodge obstacles and your own body if you have any hope of beating the game. Sounds easy, right? Think again.
🐍 How to Play: Mastering the Slither
Alright, alright, we hear you say, can we just get on with actually playing the game? You betcha.
First things first, you’ll need a link to the original Google Doodle from 2013 to get started. You could type “Snake Google Doodle 2013” or “Play Snake” into your search bar, or you could simply click the button below.
When the Doodle is no longer live on the homepage, players can still find and play it in the Google Doodles archive.
Once the page has fully loaded, you’ll be greeted by a familiar sight: the Google logo. But wait a minute. It’s moving! That’s right, folks, that old familiar Google textbox is actually the play area of everyone’s favorite Oroboros-type entertainment!
Pro tip: Lower your volume a bit, since that festive music can get pretty loud!
When you’re ready to start playing, you’ll need to click on the golden coin that appears in the middle of your display.
The game offers swipe controls on mobile devices and arrow key controls on desktop, with desktop offering more precision and mobile providing on-the-go convenience.
Finally, the game will start, and the “G” in Google will become your player character, a small red snake with a big appetite.
Image credits: F_Azevedo / Reddit
Your objective now is to guide your scarlet serpent around the play area, collecting items like red envelopes and dumplings, which will increase its size and make it much harder to control!
Of course, your job isn’t going to be easy: between you and your consumables are these crackling, colorful sprites: firecrackers.
Consider these things your worst enemy. A game of Snake is played over 60 seconds, where your goal is to earn as many points as possible in that short timeframe.
Firecrackers stun you, shaving off precious seconds from your run without any way of recovering them.
Worse, run into them enough, and they’ll outright kill you, ending your run before the final bell can ever ring. Some game iterations offer a dark mode toggle for eye comfort during extended sessions.
Image credits: Mediocre_Pea_6845 / Reddit
Walls are also what stand between you and a perfect high score. Like firecrackers, hitting one will stun you, greatly reducing your score potential. For such a simple game that can literally run on a toaster, it’s diabolically tricky. But there are ways you can gain an edge over it.
5 Pro Strategies for a Massive High Score
While Google’s Snake is hardly Dark Souls, you’d be surprised by the depth of its gameplay.
Despite its low skill floor, its skill ceiling is exponentially high, allowing players an opportunity to master something niche and unlike anything else.
If that sounds appealing to you, you’ll want to buckle up for these 5 tips to dominate Snake.
Tip 1: The S-Pattern
Unlike real snakes, this snake is more like a shark in the sense that it cannot stop moving. In order to really git gud at Snake, there’s a specific movement pattern that you’ll need to master, which we call the S-Pattern.
The S-Pattern basically entails, see what we did there, moving in a tight “S” shape, which keeps your snake in one approximate location while you wait for the next item to spawn. This means you won’t have to keep moving in a straight line for too long, which could be fatal.
Image credits: CortoJipang / Reddit
Tip 2: Respect the Firecrackers
Your biggest obstacle to overcome in Snake is the firecrackers that routinely litter the play area.
These items don’t just end your run outright; instead, they stun you, leaving you totally frozen for several seconds, and thus drastically limiting your score potential. So, the rule is simple: avoid the firecrackers at all costs!
Tip 3: Stick to the Edges Early
When you first start Snake, your first instinct might be to go for every object that spawns in.
This is a trap! The more you last in Snake, the more your slithery guy grows, and the more difficult it becomes to escape the middle of the display.
For this reason, you’ll want to stick to the edges early on, allowing your snake to grow relatively unobstructed, and making your life easier overall.
Tip 4: Watch for Spawn Patterns
While the items that spawn in Snake can seem pretty random at first, it’s worth paying attention.
You won’t be able to predict exactly where the first few red envelopes and dumplings spawn, but once you’ve found them, you can safely bet that more will spawn nearby within a few seconds.
Tip 5: Keep It Moving
Snake is a game about momentum. Our earlier shark comparison fits well here, too.
You need to keep moving in order to survive and thrive. Stopping your momentum or making one wrong turn could mean an untimely defeat. To borrow a quote from Sekiro: “Hesitation is defeat.”
Why Games From the Past Are Making a Massive Comeback
This iteration of Snake was released back in 2013, but it’s still totally playable today, over a decade later. And it’s not alone in its throwback status, either.
More and more older games, movies, and shows, including snake-centric ones, are making massive comebacks.
You can thank Nostalgiacore for that. In an age of Overwatchs, Battlefields, and Soulslikes, games with challenging difficulty curves and competitive playerbases, it’s titles like Snake that actually stand out more.
Its mechanics are simple and intuitive, and its graphics, while rudimentary, are charming. They harken back to a simpler time when all we needed to entertain ourselves was an indestructible Nokia and a tiny display.
And it’s not like Snake and other 8-bit titles like it don’t have their own competitive fanbases. Despite its prevalence on older mobile phones, the game evolved beyond that in the early 2000s, eventually amassing its own esports scene. That’s right: believe it or not, there was a time when you could call yourself a “professional Snake player”.
While modern trends aren’t likely to go away any time soon, nor should they, the fact that titles like Snake can still have a place in today’s discourse proves that letting nostalgia get the better of us from time to time isn’t always a bad thing.
FAQs
What makes Google’s Year of the Snake game special?
Google’s take on the nostalgic game presents a twist on the original formula: namely, rooting its background aesthetics in the tradition of the Chinese Lunar New Year.
This link to Chinese culture makes it stand out from other iterations of Snake, giving it strong cultural significance. It’s something of a secret, hidden gem on the internet that will captivate audiences old and new.
When is the Year of the Snake?
The Year of the Snake occurs every 12 years in the zodiac cycle, with notable years being 2013, when the Google Doodle first appeared, and 2025. The Lunar New Year falls between January and early February and is typically marked by a festival celebrating the new year with family gatherings and traditions.
What does the Year of the Snake represent?
The Year of the Snake can have many meanings and is open to individual interpretation and a deep dive into symbolism. Generally, the wood snake symbolizes insight, growth, prosperity, creativity, and renewal, as it sheds its skin in a process of transformation or evolution.
People born in this year are typically playful, with a unique personality all their own and a deep connection to their inner world.
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