SNAKE(6)

NAME
snake - display chase game

SYNOPSIS
snake [width height] [-s]

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. Two optional arguments allow specifying the size of the playing field. By default the entire screen is used. If the -s argument is passed, snake will print scores and exit.

You are represented on the screen by an @. The snake 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. This lets you quit the game at any time. 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.

FILES
database of personal bests

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.