It doesn't seem like five minutes since Flappy Bird fever swept across the nation, but as is always the way with the internet, there's now a new mobile gaming sensation for you to endlessly obsess over - say hello to Slither.io. This mobile game is the twenty-first century version of Snake, and it's available for free on Android and iOS devices and online via your web browser.
It's actually a huge Snake MMO, where other players from around the world are all controlling their own 'snakes' simultaneously on the same board independently of your own. If you manage to create one of the ten longest snakes at any one time, your name will appear on the leaderboard in the top right corner. It's not terribly sophisticated, but then mobile gaming phenomenons rarely are.
The biggest reason why you want to make it onto that elusive leaderboard is so you can leave a personalised message for other players – at least until your score gets surpassed by someone else. There's also a combative element to Slither.io, as you can slam into other players' snakes and destroy them. Only your face is vulnerable, though, and there's a deliberate delay on your movements, so you'll need to plan ahead if you want to take someone down or dodge someone else's incoming attack. A good way to evade other players is to cross over your own tail. That's right – unlike the original Snake, it doesn't matter if you collide with your own body here, so keep this in mind while you play.
Tips, tricks and cheats
Play it safe: You start off pretty small when you load up a game, so spend those first few minutes simply chowing down on all the colourful dots scattered around the screen. Avoid other players as much as you can.
Attacking: When you're a bit beefier, you can start taking on bigger snakes. When a snake dies, they leave behind a massive trail of dots, so finding a kill quickly is a great way to get big very quickly. However, don't fall into the trap of simply following the line of dots, as everyone else will be wanting those dots too. Instead, a safer strategy is to cut across it a right angle – so if it's horizontal, you tackle it vertically. This saves you from any head-on collisions with other dot gobblers.
Defending: If you encounter an aggressive snake, keep your face protected by curling back in on yourself or doubling back the way you came. You'll need to use a mix of these strategies if you're facing off against more than one attacker, but make sure you don't accidentally get surrounded by larger snakes when you're curling round your own tail, as you'll end up completely trapped.
Keep your wits about you, and you'll eventually grow into one of the biggest snakes on the board. Just be patient and play it safe at all times.
