Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the things people ask most. The full rules are in how it works.

What is Snakoff?

Snakoff is a free daily Snake game that runs in your browser. Every day there is one new arena, the same for everyone in the world, and a knockout that runs all day: in each round the better half goes through, until the final decides the day's champion. A run is short, from 20 seconds to a few minutes depending on the day's mode, so a whole day takes only a few minutes of play. You can install it to your home screen like an app.

Is it free?

Yes. The game is free to play, and everything that decides your score is free. Coins, which you earn by playing, buy looks for your snake and a few small conveniences. More in shop and coins.

Do I need an account?

No. You can play straight away as a guest: your device gets an anonymous player id the first time you play, and your progress is kept on it. If you want your progress on more than one device, you can sign in with a link sent to your email (or Google or Apple where they are offered), and your guest progress joins the account. Without an account, "Move my progress" in Settings gives you a one-time code to carry your progress to another device or browser.

When does the new arena come out?

Every day at 00:00 UTC. That is when Round 1 of the new day opens and the new arena appears for everyone at the same moment. The how it works page shows the round times in your own time zone.

How many tries do I get?

In each round you get one warm-up, which doesn't count, and then one run that counts. Leaving the run counts as zero. Practice and Endless are always open if you want to play more, but they never change your place in the day.

What is the median cut?

When a round closes, everyone who scored at least as much as the middle player of that round goes through to the next one. In plain words, the better half goes through, and anyone level with the line goes through too, so at least half the field always survives a cut. The final has no cut: the best run in it wins the day.

What are tiers and leagues?

Tiers (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond and Legend) show how well you play over time. Every day you play a run that counts earns points, and points are never lost, so a tier is never lost either. Weekly leagues are a fresh race every Monday against a table of up to 30 players, where the top 7 move up and the bottom 7 move down. All the details are on tiers and leagues.

Are scores real?

Yes. Every run is stored as a short list of turns, called an input log. Our server re-runs that log with the same game code on the same arena, and a run only counts if it replays to the same score. A run that doesn't replay to the score it claims is not counted.

What are coins and chests?

Coins are earned by playing: runs that count, rounds you get through, winning a day, quests, streak milestones and levels. You spend them on looks for your snake (skins, trails, name colours, icons and more) and on chests, which give a random look with the odds printed on every chest. A look you already own turns into coins instead. See shop and coins.

Can I pay to rank higher?

No, ever. Nothing that affects your score is for sale, and coins are never needed to compete. A second chance on a ranked run gives you one more try (and the better of your two runs counts), but it adds nothing to your score: you still have to play the better run yourself.