How to play Twin Snakes
- Two snakes, one board. Orange starts near the bottom, heading up. Purple starts near the top, heading down.
- Snakes never stop. They move one square at a time, all the time. You choose where they turn.
- Eat fruit to grow. Each apple makes your snake two squares longer, and a new apple appears somewhere else.
- Don't crash. A snake that runs into a wall, its own body or the other snake loses the round.
- Head to head: if both snakes crash at the same moment, or their heads meet in the same square, nobody wins the round.
- Faster and faster: the snakes speed up little by little as each round goes on.
- Winning: the first to win 3 rounds wins the match.
Controls
- On a phone or tablet: swipe on your own half of the screen in the direction you want to go. Orange uses the bottom half and Purple the top half. Playing alone, swipe anywhere.
- On a keyboard: Orange steers with W A S D and Purple with the arrow keys. Playing alone, either set works.
- A snake can't turn straight back on itself. Quick turns are remembered, two at a time, so you can swipe a U-turn in one go.
Each player's half of the board is tinted in their colour, and the rounds each player has won show as dots at their end of the board. On a wide screen the board turns sideways, with Orange on the left.
Computer levels
The computer steers by the same rules, one square at a time, and sees the same board as you.
| Level | How it plays |
|---|---|
| Easy | Heads for the nearest fruit and dodges what's right in front of it, but now and then turns the wrong way. |
| Medium | Also stays out of corners and pockets where there isn't enough room to escape. |
| Hard | Finds a real path to the fruit around every body in the way, checks there's room to keep going, and rarely slips. |
| Expert | Also fights for space: it heads for squares it can reach before you, to box you in, and keeps clear of your head. |
Tips to win
- Stay off the walls. A snake hugging the edge has fewer ways out when it gets boxed in.
- Leave yourself room. Before you dive into a gap, make sure there's space on the other side for your whole body.
- Cut your rival off. When your snake is longer, swing across in front of theirs to close off their space.
- Don't race for every apple. Growing longer makes you a better wall, but it also makes it easier to trap yourself.
- Avoid head-on meetings. If both heads are about to meet, turn away: a crash at the same moment wins nothing.
About Twin Snakes
Games where a growing line hunts for food, or tries to box in a rival, go back to the arcades of the 1970s and became a favourite on early mobile phones. Twin Snakes is our own take for two players: both snakes share one board, so every round is a mix of racing for fruit and squeezing your rival out of space.
Questions
How do you win Twin Snakes?
Make the other snake crash first: into a wall, into its own tail or into your snake. The first to win three rounds wins the match.
What happens if both snakes crash?
If both crash at the same moment, or their heads meet in the same square, the round is a draw and nobody scores. Then the next round starts.
Can I turn back the way I came?
No. A snake can't reverse into its own neck, but two quick turns in a row let you make a U-turn.
Do the snakes get faster?
Yes. Each round starts at a steady pace and speeds up little by little the longer it lasts.
Can two people play on one phone?
Yes. That's what it's made for. Hold the phone between you: Orange swipes on the bottom half and Purple on the top half. On a computer, use W A S D and the arrow keys.
Is Twin Snakes free?
Yes. It's free in your browser, with no download, no sign-up and no ads during a game.
Updated 8 November 2026