Your game is still there: tap ◀ Snake '97 at the top left.

Hi, I'm Willem.
I made Snake '97.

tap the screen for another phone 5110

Willem

On my own, since 2011. Millions of games later I still look after every pixel, from my desk in the Netherlands. No account, no sign-up, no internet needed. Just Snake, like it's 1997.

Just lost? Three things the game won't tell you

  1. Speed paysEvery food is worth as many points as your speed: 1 point at speed 1, 12 points at speed 12. Play the highest speed where every turn is still a choice.
  2. You get one warningRight before a crash the game gives you a split second to turn away. Make it and you live: that is a near death, and the game counts them.
  3. Sweep, don't wanderMow the field lane by lane, like a lawn. Your tail stays packed behind you and the food is always ahead.
All high score tips

27 challenges

The game hands out 27 challenges in seven categories, from Close Call Rookie to Snake Master. Tap to see which you would wear with pride. The hardest of each:

/earned
See all 27 and how to earn them

Seven phones, eight mazes

Tap the gear in the game to swap phones, or tap one here to try it on the screen above. The 3310, 3410 and 7110 play Snake 2: open borders, a bonus creature every five foods (the faster you catch it, the more it is worth) and mazes.

5110
5110
3210
3210
8210
8210
8850
8850
7110
7110
3410
3410
3310
3310

The six bonus creatures of Snake 2, each worth up to 50 points and gone after 20 ticks:

The Snake 2 guide
Got a game controller? Connect it. Snake '97 plays with a gamepad, a keyboard or your thumb.

How it began

In 2011 my brother threw a beer over my iPhone, in a bar in Amsterdam. While I waited for a new one, my old phone came out of the drawer: calls, texts and Snake. Two weeks later the first version ran.
My brother Kevin photographed my old phone up close. Those photos are still the game: you are carrying a copy of my phone in your pocket.
Then it climbed the charts, right next to WhatsApp and Angry Birds. It never really left.
And it became art: Zena Van den Block in Antwerp painted her game-over screens as canvases that glow in the dark. High scores, framed.
The whole making of
My 2018 story about rebuilding the game

Free, with a few ads

Snake '97 is free and pays for itself with an ad now and then. I keep them out of your way: never during a game, none in your first five games, and at most one every 85 seconds. If you like the game, a review helps more than you think.

★ Rate Snake '97

My other games

Block 89Retro brick puzzle
Outburn 87Retro arcade racing
Outcast 99The 1999 classic, natively in 3D

And the rest of me

I build apps, games and websites for people and companies, and I write about what I make: from bikes and watches to AI agents. Have a look around, or go back and beat your high score.

The blogAbout mewillem.com

Thanks for playing!