Almost everyone has played Snake at some point. It might be the single most widely played video game in history, shipped on over 400 million Nokia phones alone. But Snake didn't start on a Nokia. Its roots go back further than most people realize.

The 1970s: Where It Started

The concept behind Snake first appeared in 1976 with an arcade game called Blockade by Gremlin Industries. Two players each controlled a line that grew longer as it moved. Crash into a wall or the other player's trail, and you lose. It was simple, competitive, and immediately addictive.

Throughout the late 70s and 80s, variations appeared under names like Surround, Nibbler, and Worm. The core mechanic stayed the same: navigate a growing line without hitting anything.

1997: The Nokia Era

Snake as most people know it arrived in 1997, pre-loaded on the Nokia 6110. Taneli Armanto programmed the game, and it became an instant phenomenon. With no app stores and no internet on phones, Snake was the game people played. Everywhere.

Nokia continued including Snake on their phones for years. Snake II arrived in 2000 with improved graphics and wrap-around walls. By the time Nokia's phone dominance faded in the late 2000s, Snake had been played by hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

The Flash and Mobile Years

When Flash was the dominant web technology, Snake clones appeared on every game website. The simplicity of the game made it easy to recreate, and thousands of developers put their own spin on it. Some added power-ups, others added multiplayer, and a few experimented with 3D versions.

On mobile, games like Slither.io (2016) took the Snake concept and turned it into a massive multiplayer experience. The basic idea of controlling a growing line in a dangerous space proved it could work at any scale.

Snake Today

Modern browser versions of Snake keep the core appeal while adding features the Nokia version never had. Power-ups that grant temporary abilities, customizable grid sizes, difficulty settings, and visual effects that make the experience feel fresh.

Snake Infinity on Agency Games is a good example. It preserves the tight, responsive controls that made the original great while adding an ultimate attack system, multiple power-ups (speed boost, shield, magnet, score multiplier), and adjustable difficulty. The game still feels like Snake, but with more depth for players who want it.

Why Snake Endures

The brilliance of Snake is its simplicity. Anyone can understand the rules in seconds: move the line, eat the food, don't hit anything. But mastering it takes genuine skill and spatial awareness. That gap between "easy to learn" and "hard to master" is what keeps people coming back, whether it's 1997 or 2026.

Want to see how the classic has evolved? Play Snake Infinity and experience it yourself.