How To Play
Objective
Score as many points as possible in 10 minutes by collecting letters with your snake and forming valid English words. Each word you submit earns points based on the letters it contains.
Game Controls
Playing on Mobile
On phones and tablets, Wordsnake shows on-screen controls so you can play without a keyboard:
Gameplay Basics
Moving and Collecting Letters
Use the arrow keys to move your snake around the 3D game board. As your snake moves over letters, it automatically collects them, adding them to your snake's body. The letters you collect appear in sequence from head to tail. The tapered piece at the front is the head: its narrow end points the way you're moving, and its letter counts as the first letter of your snake.
Building Words
The letters in your snake form a continuous string. As you collect more letters, you'll naturally form sequences that may spell valid English words. Words must be at least 3 letters long to be valid.
Submitting Words
When you've formed a valid word, press SPACEBAR to submit it. The game automatically finds and submits the longest valid word ending at your snake's tail. When you submit a word, those letter segments are removed from your snake, making it shorter and giving you more room to collect new letters.
Scoring System
Letter-Based Scoring
Each letter has a point value based on its frequency in the English language. Less common letters are worth more points, while common letters are worth fewer points.
On the board, each tile's colour follows the same order: the most common letters are cool violet, and the colour shades to hot pink as letters get rarer. The colour is a quick hint while you play, and the points below are the rule. Each letter is shown here in its tile colour.
Common letters score 1 to 3 points, medium letters 4 to 6, and the rare J, X, Q and Z are worth 15 to 18.
- 1 pointE
- 2 pointsTAOINSHRD
- 3 pointsLCUMWF
- 4 pointsGYP
- 5 pointsBV
- 6 pointsK
- 15 pointsJX
- 18 pointsQZ
Word Scoring
A word's base score is the sum of all its letter scores. For example, a word with rare letters like "QUIZ" will score much higher than a word with common letters like "THE".
Length Bonus: longer words earn a multiplier on top of their base score:
- 3–4 letters: ×1 (no bonus)
- 5–6 letters: ×1.5
- 7+ letters: ×2
So a long, letter-rich word can be worth far more than several short ones—it pays to build big words when you can.
Speed ramp: every 50 points you score, the snake moves a little faster, up to a maximum speed. A high score means a harder snake to steer.
Strategy Tips
- Look for opportunities to collect rare letters (Q, Z, X, J, the hot-pink tiles) to boost your score
- Longer words generally score more, but don't wait too long—submit valid words regularly
- Use turbo mode (hold SHIFT) strategically when you need to move quickly
- Submitting words removes segments, giving you more room to maneuver
- Balance speed with word length—sometimes shorter words are better than waiting for longer ones
Game Over Conditions
Boundary Collision
Your snake hits the edge of the game board
Self-Collision
Your snake runs into its own body
Time Up
The 10-minute timer runs out
Game Statistics
Track your performance with real-time statistics:
- Score: Your total points from all submitted words
- Length: Current number of segments in your snake
- Time Remaining: How much time you have left in the 10-minute session
- Completed Words: List of all words you've successfully submitted
- Longest Word: The longest word you've submitted this game
- Best Word: The highest-scoring word you've submitted this game
Tips for Success
- Start by collecting common letters to build quick words and clear space
- Keep an eye on your snake's length—longer snakes are harder to maneuver
- Submit words regularly to keep your snake manageable
- Plan your path to collect high-value letters when possible
- Use pause (P key) to take a break and plan your next moves
- Watch the timer—don't wait too long to submit words near the end
- Practice makes perfect! Each game helps you recognize word patterns faster
Ready to play? Head back to the game and start building words!