ASCII Snake 🐍

A tiny terminal Snake game built with Python, no libraries to install.

• % = snake head
• # = snake body
• \\\* = food
• ▪ ▫ = dark checkerboard background
• Two terminal columns per tile for a square-looking grid.

Play

python snake.py

Choose Play or Zen mode, then enter the board dimensions:

SNAKE
1) Play
2) Zen mode

Choose \\\[1/2]: 1
x (width): 20
y (height): 12

Play: use W A S D or the arrow keys to move. Eat \\\*, grow, and avoid walls and your body. Press Q to quit.

Zen mode: watch the snake play itself. It follows a safe looping route and never crashes. On boards where both dimensions are odd, one column is reserved to guarantee a safe loop. The snake keeps moving even after filling its route.

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• Windows Terminal, PowerShell, macOS Terminal, or a Linux terminal
• No external packages

Tip: use a monospace terminal, and make your window at least 2 × width columns wide and height + 2 lines tall.

How Zen mode works

Zen mode uses a Hamiltonian cycle on an even-sized rectangular region: a closed path that visits every tile in that region once. The head always follows the cycle, and the body follows behind, so self-collisions cannot happen. This is a simple guaranteed-safe autopilot rather than a learning AI.

GitHub topics

python · snake-game · terminal-game · ascii-art · cli · autoplay · hamiltonian-cycle · zero-dependencies