SNAKE(6)
NAME
snake, snscore -- display chase game
SYNOPSIS
snake [-w width] [-l length] [-t] snscore
DESCRIPTION
snake is a display-based game which must be played on a CRT terminal.
The object of the game is to make as much money as possible without getting eaten by the snake. The -l and -w options allow you to specify the
length and width of the field. By default the entire screen is used.
The -t option makes the game assume you are on a slow terminal.
You are represented on the screen by an I. The snake is 6 squares long
and is represented by s's with an S at its head. The money is $, and an
exit is #. Your score is posted in the upper left hand corner.
You can move around using the same conventions as vi(1), the h, j, k, and
l keys work, as do the arrow keys. Other possibilities include:
- sefc These keys are like hjkl but form a directed pad around the d
- key.
- HJKL These keys move you all the way in the indicated direction to the
- same row or column as the money. This does not let you jump away
from the snake, but rather saves you from having to type a key
repeatedly. The snake still gets all his turns. - SEFC Likewise for the upper case versions on the left.
- ATPB These keys move you to the four edges of the screen. Their posi
- tion on the keyboard is the mnemonic, e.g. P is at the far right of the keyboard.
- x This lets you quit the game at any time.
- p Points in a direction you might want to go.
- w Space warp to get out of tight squeezes, at a price.
- To earn money, move to the same square the money is on. A new $ will
appear when you earn the current one. As you get richer, the snake gets hungrier. To leave the game, move to the exit (#). - A record is kept of the personal best score of each player. Scores are
only counted if you leave at the exit, getting eaten by the snake is
worth nothing. - As in pinball, matching the last digit of your score to the number which appears after the game is worth a bonus.
- To see who wastes time playing snake, run snscore.
FILES
/var/games/bsdgames/snakerawscores database of personal bests
/var/games/bsdgames/snake.log log of games played
BUGS
When playing on a small screen, it's hard to tell when you hit the edge
of the screen.
- The scoring function takes into account the size of the screen. A perfect function to do this equitably has not been devised.