Meet the tabletop “Snake”!

On September 18, Hobby World released Snake, a board game with dice, colored markers, and game boards that grow more crowded with every turn.

Yes, it’s that same Snake familiar to anyone who grew up in the era of button phones and monochrome displays, when a few pixels and simple rules were enough for an entertaining game: move, collect symbols, and don’t crash. The board game version keeps all the familiar elements: the snake grows, free space becomes scarcer, and every new turn demands more attention. Naturally, over time, the famous game has spawned countless variations, including versions with opponents and high-score chases, both digital and on paper.

The new version of Snake offers plenty of nuances and additional conditions. Players draw routes for their snakes with colored markers, while special dice marked with dots and dashes determine the direction of movement. At the start of each round, one player rolls the dice, after which the participants take turns choosing one die and playing the resulting combination. A dash makes the snake continue moving along the line, while a dot allows it to turn and choose a new direction. Players cannot refuse the actions rolled, so they have to plan their route in advance: which die to choose, where to direct the snake, and whether it will have enough room for its next maneuver.

Along the way, players collect apples, stars, diamonds, and crates. Collected symbols can be spent on additional dots, dashes, and special effects, while a crate can be used in place of any symbol needed. At the same time, even discoveries that have been spent still count toward the final score. So it’s important not only to plot a successful route, but also to decide when to use which opportunities.

To add variety to the games, the box contains six unique game boards featuring portals, mazes, wormholes, and other special elements. They change the familiar route and add new conditions to every game. A game takes up to half an hour—enough time to build a clever route, take a risk for one more trophy, and remember the familiar urge to start over immediately after an unfortunate collision.

Overall, the new Snake board game brings the iconic game back in a new format. For those who once spent hours chasing apples on a tiny screen or drawing something similar with a pencil during school breaks, it’s a chance to relive that familiar excitement in a new format. And for those who are discovering the original Snake for the first time, it’s an opportunity to find out why such a simple mechanic could keep players hooked for so long.