🐍 Multi-User Snake Game

This project was fully vibe coded for fun by Claude & Github Copilot.

A multiplayer Snake game for Linux/Windows supporting up to 10 players over the network.

Features

• Network Multiplayer: Players can connect from different machines via TCP/UDP
• Multi-User Support: Up to 10 players can play simultaneously
• Two Game Modes:
  • Classic: Traditional snake - the snake only grows when eating food
  • Kurve (Achtung die Kurve style): The snake constantly grows and leaves a permanent trail
• Weapon System (4 weapons, all fired with Space in collection order):
  • Bomb: Shoot at other snakes — destroys 4 segments!
  • Ghost: Become invisible for 5 seconds — you pass through others, but they still die hitting you!
  • Shotgun: Fires a 10-shot burst over 2 seconds — each bullet destroys 1 segment
  • Nuclear Bomb: Infinite range, wraps the map until it hits something — destroys a 10×10 area on impact!
• Shrinking Walls: Battle royale mode activates when 3 or fewer players remain
  • Walls shrink every 15 seconds (3 players) or 10 seconds (2 players)
  • Bombs can destroy wall segments to create escape routes
• Dead Snake Obstacles: Eliminated players remain as solid obstacles on the field
• Epic Winner Display: FAT gold text, rankings, and medals (🥇🥈🥉) for top 3 players
• Speed Modes: Normal, Fast, Ultra
• Wall Options: Play with or without walls (wrap-around possible)
• GUI Mode: Graphical interface with Pygame (optional)
• Terminal Mode: Play directly in the Linux/Windows terminal (curses)
• Explosion Animations: Visual effects for bomb hits
• Security Features: Password authentication, rate limiting, connection limits

Installation

Requirements

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Or install manually
pip install pygame           # Optional: for GUI mode

Single player GUI Mode

python snake_game.py --host --gui

Single player console Mode (Linux only)

python snake_game.py --host

Network Mode

Starting a Server

# Local server (LAN - no password required)
python snake_game.py --server --ip 192.168.1.100 --port 5555

# Server on all interfaces (auto-generates password for security)
python snake_game.py server  --ip 0.0.0.0  --port 5555

# Server with custom password
python snake_game.py --server --ip 0.0.0.0 --port 5555 --password mySecretPassword123

When the server binds to 0.0.0.0 or a public IP, a password is automatically generated and displayed:

============================================================
⚠️  SERVER IS POTENTIALLY INTERNET-EXPOSED!
🔑 PASSWORD: abc123XYZ456def
   Share this password with players to allow them to join.
============================================================

Connecting as a Client

# Connect without password (LAN server)
python snake_game.py --connect 192.168.1.100:5555

# Connect with password (internet server)
python snake_game.py --connect 192.168.1.100:5555 --password yourPassword123

# GUI mode
python snake_game.py --gui --connect 192.168.1.100:5555

# Windowed mode instead of fullscreen
python snake_game.py --windowed --connect 192.168.1.100:5555 --gui

Note: For servers on the local network (192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, etc.) no password is required.

Controls

Movement

Key	Action
↑ ↓ ← →	Arrow keys for direction
W A S D	Alternative movement keys
8 4 6 2	Numpad movement

Weapons & Actions

Key	Action
Space	Fire next weapon in queue (in collection order)
S	Start game (when in lobby)

Game Control

Key	Action
S	Start game (when in lobby)
R	Restart game (after game over)
Q / ESC	Quit game

Command-Line Options

Server Options

Option	Description
--server --ip <IP> --port <PORT>	Start server mode
--mode classic|kurve	Game mode
--speed normal|fast|ultra	Game speed
--no-walls	No walls - wrap-around enabled
--debug	Enable debug output

Client Options

Option	Description
--connect IP:PORT	Connect to server
--gui	Graphical mode with Pygame
--windowed	Windowed mode instead of fullscreen
--name NAME	Set player name
--debug	Enable debug output

Game Elements

Symbol	Element	Description
█	Snake Head	Your snake's head
▓	Snake Body	Your snake's body segments
░	Dead Snake	Dead snake (becomes obstacle)
●	Food	Eat to grow and score points
W	Bomb pickup	Collectible bomb weapon
S	Shotgun pickup	Collectible shotgun weapon
N	Nuclear pickup	Collectible nuclear bomb weapon
G	Ghost pickup	Collectible ghost weapon
!	Flying bomb	Normal bomb projectile
#	Wall	Impassable obstacle

Game Modes Explained

Classic Mode

• Traditional snake gameplay
• Snake only grows when eating food (●)
• Goal: Eat as much as possible without dying

Kurve Mode (Achtung die Kurve)

• Snake constantly grows and leaves a permanent trail
• All trails become obstacles
• Goal: Be the last snake alive

Weapon System

All weapons are collected by running over them. They are stored in a queue and fired in the order they were collected — all with the Space bar.

Bomb 💣

• Spawns on the field every few seconds (more players = more frequent spawns)
• Flies in the direction your snake is facing
• Destroys 4 segments on hit — can hit your own snake, aim carefully!
• Explodes with a visual animation on hit

Ghost 👻

• Activates immediately when fired
• Makes your snake invisible for 5 seconds
• You pass through other snakes without dying (ghost mode)
• Other snakes still die if they run into your invisible body
• Other players cannot see you (only you see your own ghost snake)

Shotgun 🔫

• Fires a burst of 10 bullets over 2 seconds
• Each bullet travels in your current facing direction
• Each bullet destroys 1 segment on hit
• Good for sustained pressure on a target

Nuclear Bomb ☢️

• Flies in your facing direction with infinite range — it wraps around the map and will always hit something eventually
• On impact: destroys all snake segments in a 10×10 area
• Spawns 30% as often as other weapons — rare but devastating
• Renders as a glowing green 2×2 projectile

Weapon Spawn Rate

Weapons spawn more frequently as more players are in the game:

• Spawn interval scales as base_interval / alive_player_count
• Minimum interval: 1 second regardless of player count
• When players die, spawn rate decreases accordingly in real-time

Endgame Features

Shrinking Walls (Battle Royale)

When 3 or fewer players remain alive, the walls automatically activate and begin shrinking:

• 3 players alive: Walls shrink every 15 seconds
• 2 players alive: Walls shrink every 10 seconds
• Strategic bombing: Use bombs to destroy wall segments and create escape routes
• Minimum arena: Walls stop shrinking at 10x10 to prevent complete collapse
• Forces final confrontation and prevents indefinite stalemates

Winner Celebration

When the game ends, an epic winner screen displays:

• FAT gold text announcing the winner (impossible to miss!)
• Rankings: Top 3 players with Olympic-style medals
  • 🥇 1st Place - Gold medal and largest text
  • 🥈 2nd Place - Silver medal and medium text
  • 🥉 3rd Place - Bronze medal and smaller text
• Scores: Points shown for each ranked player
• Restart: Press R to return to lobby with same players — names are shown again and any player can press S to start

GUI Mode

The GUI mode offers:

• Graphical sprites for snakes, food, weapons
• Fullscreen mode for better gameplay experience
• Explosion particles for bomb hits
• Colored snakes with eyes
• Smooth rendering at 60 FPS

Requirements:

# Install pygame
pip install pygame

# X-Server must be available (Linux)
echo $DISPLAY  # Should show :0 or similar

Death Conditions

Your snake dies when:

• Touching a wall (only if walls are enabled!)
• Touching itself
• Touching another snake's body (alive or dead, including invisible ghost snakes)
• Touching shrinking walls (during endgame battle royale)
• Being reduced to less than 2 segments by a bomb, shotgun, or nuclear blast

Dead snakes remain as solid obstacles - eliminated players continue to affect the game by creating maze-like obstacles on the playing field!

Without walls (--no-walls): Snakes appear on the other side of the screen.

🌐 Browser Version

A full-featured browser game is included in the web/ folder — no Python clients needed!

Quick Start

# Install aiohttp
pip install aiohttp

# Start the web server (HTTP + WebSocket on the same port)
cd web
python server.py

# Open in your browser
# http://localhost:8080

Options

python server.py --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8080 --mode classic --speed normal
python server.py --no-walls   # wrap-around mode
python server.py --speed fast  # faster game

Browser Features

• Up to 10 players in the same game, all in different browser tabs / devices
• Lobby — enter your name, wait for others, anyone can press S to start
• Spectator mode — players who join during a running game can watch live
• Full feature parity — all 4 weapons, ghost mode, shrinking walls, nuclear bombs, etc.
• Mobile support — virtual D-pad + fire button on touch screens; or swipe to move / tap to fire
• Winner screen — medals, rankings, R to restart
• Particles & explosions — client-side visual effects
• Anti-cheat — server filters invisible snake bodies before sending to non-owners

Browser Controls

Input	Action
Arrow keys / WASD	Direction
Space	Fire weapon
S	Start game (lobby)
R	Restart (after game over)
Swipe on canvas	Direction (mobile)
Tap on canvas	Fire (mobile)
D-pad buttons	Direction (mobile)
🔥 FIRE button	Fire (mobile)

Network Architecture

Protocol Design

• TCP: For reliable messages (join requests, player inputs, authentication)
• UDP: For fast game state broadcasts (positions, scores)

Gameplay Flow

1. Start server: One player starts the server with --server --ip IP --port PORT
2. Players connect: Other players connect with --connect IP:PORT
3. Wait for start: All players see the connected snakes in the lobby
4. Start game: Any player can press S to start the game
5. Early game: All players control their snakes simultaneously
6. Endgame: When 3 or fewer players remain, shrinking walls activate
7. Victory: Winner announced with rankings and medals for top 3 players
8. Restart: Press R to return to lobby — all players see each other, then press S to start again

Technical Details

• Language: Python 3.6+
• Dependencies: pygame (optional), windows-curses (Windows only)
• Network: Hybrid TCP/UDP with automatic fallback
• Game Tick: ~150ms
• Max Players: 10 concurrent players
• Playing Field: Dynamic size based on terminal/window dimensions

Troubleshooting

Connection to server failed:

• Check if the server is running and reachable
• Check firewall settings (port must be open)
• For internet servers: Password entered correctly?

Debug Mode

Use --debug flag to see detailed network and game information:

python snake_game.py --debug --connect 192.168.1.100:5555

This shows:

• Connection status
• UDP/TCP packet counts
• Player ID assignments
• Authentication flow

License

None - Have fun playing! 🎮