Guides

Snake Tail Collision: Plan Around the Moving Tail

Avoid a Snake tail collision by checking which square will clear on your next move. Compare two tested routes and see how a snack changes the turn.

A lime snake curves across a dark grid near a pink food cube.
Original ProjectGAMR editorial illustration.

Check which square the tail will leave

A Snake tail collision depends on which body squares will remain occupied when the head moves. In ProjectGAMR's 20-by-15 browser game, an ordinary move adds a new head square and drops the last tail square. The head may enter that departing square on the same move.

Eating a snack keeps the last square occupied for that move, increasing the snake's length. When planning a tight turn, look at the current tail and the food on your route. The examples use the version checked on November 8, 2026.

Use the opening snack as a checkpoint

Count columns from the left and rows from the top, starting at one. The opening head is at column 8, row 8. It starts moving right, and the first snack is at column 15 on that row. Let the snake reach that snack without turning.

After eating it, the four occupied squares run from column 15 back to column 12 on row 8. Tap the direction buttons or press the matching arrow key. Watch the head reach its next square before entering another turn.

Turn into a vacating tail on a short loop

In the first example the next snack is away from the turn. Move Down to column 15, row 9, then Left to column 14, row 9. The tail has now reached column 14, row 8, directly above the head.

Move Up. The tail leaves column 14, row 8 as the head enters it, so the move succeeds. The snake still occupies four squares. Its new tail is at column 15, row 8.

See what changes after a second snack

Suppose the next snack appears immediately below the first one, at column 15, row 9. The Down move eats it and leaves the tail where it was, so the snake grows to five squares. Left still takes the head to column 14, row 9.

The tail is now at column 13, row 8. The square above the head, column 14, row 8, remains occupied by the body on this move. Up ends the run with two snacks.

Choose a clear square after growing

At that same point in the second example, Down moves the head to column 14, row 10 and keeps the run going. Check the target square and the board edge before turning. Leaving an extra row available gives you another route when a nearby segment has yet to clear.

The game ignores a command that would reverse the current direction. Plan with the straight and perpendicular moves available from your present heading, especially when following the edge of your own body.

Follow the current tail as the route changes

Later snacks can appear in different empty squares. Look for food before committing to a compact loop, then leave room for the extra body segment if you plan to eat it. After eating, locate the new snack before picking another tight turn.

Use Pause if you want time to trace the body back to its last square. Locate the intended next square and decide whether its current occupant will still be there when the head arrives. Resume when you have a turn that fits the current board.

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