Gmail (included game)

There's a tradition of including versions of the snake game with application software, so it's not too odd to find Old Snakey turning up as part of the first suite of Gmail Labs programs to be run within Google's beta webmail service Gmail.

The gameplay hasn't changed much from the primordial soup from which its basic game type first emerged decades ago; the player uses the arrow keys to control the top-down movements of a snake, who must slither around on a grid in pursuit of small pieces of food. When the food is attained, the snake gets a bit longer and goes after another piece of food that has now appeared on the board. The game ends when the snake collides with surrounding walls or other obstacles, including its own body. In this particular implementation, the snake gets faster and faster the longer it gets.

Old Snakey is invoked by activating keyboard shortcuts in the Gmail settings, then pressing Shift-7, though this can be customized.