Games Like Slither.io: Snake .io Games and Other .io Picks
Updated
Games like slither.io are snake .io games: you steer a snake around an arena, eat glowing pellets to grow, and beat rivals by making them crash their heads into your body. Slither.io is a multiplayer snake game by the developer Steve Howse. The picks below are original games by independent studios: snake .io games first, then other .io games that share its grow-and-survive idea.
How slither.io works
In slither.io your snake never stops moving. Eating pellets makes it longer, and the aim is to be the longest snake on the server. If your head touches another snake's body, you are out, and your body turns into big, bright pellets for everyone else. Holding the boost button speeds you up but costs length, which you leave behind as a trail of small pellets.
The whole game comes down to three rules. Here is where you find them in the games below:
| Rule | What it means | Where you find it |
|---|---|---|
| Your head is the weak point | Touch another body and you are out | python.io, SnakeZ io |
| Your body is the weapon | Cut in front of a rival and let them crash into you | python.io, Snake Battle, SnakeZ io |
| Crashes leave food | Whoever survives eats what is left | python.io, SnakeZ io |
Snake .io games that play like slither.io
- python.io spells out the core rule. If your head touches an opponent you explode; if an opponent runs into you, they explode and you eat the remains. Even a tiny python can beat a much bigger one by swerving in front of it. Steer with the mouse, or touch and hold on a phone.
- Snake Battle asks you to eat glowing dots and cut off enemies so that they crash into you. It has a Campaign and an Endless mode, keyboard controls on a computer (the arrow keys or WASD) and a touch joystick on a phone.
- SnakeRush is the classic loop: grow as big as you can while surviving the other snakes and climbing the leaderboard. Move with the mouse and boost with the left button.
- SnakeZ io tells you to block other snakes' way so that their heads hit you, then eat everything their bodies leave behind. Steer with the mouse and boost with Space.
- Snake Wars keeps it simple: eat to grow and avoid colliding with other snakes. Steer with the mouse; the left button or Space boosts.
Same idea, new twist
- Limax.io makes you a slug. Eat food orbs to grow, and the bigger you get, the faster you dash. To take out another player, speed up and make them run into the trail you leave behind. Left click to dash.
- Wormania.io is a multiplayer worm game with power-ups that give you speed or cut other worms in half. Steer with the mouse and press to boost.
- Tailoff.io: Snake Dragon Arena moves the fight to a dungeon. Devour creatures, collect scales and grow from a hatchling into a hunter, with bosses to beat and dragon forms that bring special attacks.
- Trains.io 3D swaps the snake for a train. Eat others to grow longer, collect screws and toolboxes to grow faster, and click to boost.
- Cool Snakes sets the same idea in a snowy 3D world, with power-ups that make you grow faster.
Other .io games with the same idea
The label ".io games" goes back to Agar.io, a 2015 browser game in which you grow a cell by eating smaller ones and avoiding bigger ones. It inspired a wave of similar games with simple graphics and a free-for-all arena, and slither.io is one of them. These keep the grow-and-survive loop without the snake.
- Dots.io is the original idea in its plainest form: start as a small gray dot, eat smaller dots and run from bigger ones.
- Territory.io is a land grab: draw loops with your trail to capture territory and fight for the largest area on the map. You compete against computer-controlled rivals and move with WASD or the arrow keys.
- Paint Drive IO does the same with a car: your trail paints the ground, closing a loop claims the area, and rival cars try to cut you off first.
- tinywar.io is a sword free-for-all in which a single hit means defeat. Fight your way through ten character evolutions, each one faster than the last.
- Knife Ring IO gives you a spinning ring of knives that grows as you collect more, so you can attack rivals while avoiding their blades.
- Swordbattle.io is a multiplayer sword fight in which coins make you bigger and stronger.
Tips for snake .io games
- Protect your head. It is the only part of you that can get you knocked out.
- Boost to cut someone off, not to travel. In slither.io every boost costs length.
- Circle smaller snakes. A common slither.io tactic is to coil around a smaller opponent until it has nowhere left to go and crashes into you.
- Mind the edge. In slither.io, hitting the border knocks you out at once.
- When a big snake crashes, go for its pellets, but watch the others racing to the same spot.
Games like slither.io FAQ
Do you play against real people?
It depends on the game. Wormania.io and Swordbattle.io describe themselves as multiplayer, while Territory.io says you compete against AI opponents. Check each game's description.
Can I play snake .io games on a phone?
Many of the snake games here steer by following your finger or a touch joystick, including python.io, Snake Battle and SnakeRush. The site works in phone, tablet and computer browsers alike.
Are these games free?
Yes, and there is nothing to install: each game runs in a browser tab, with no registration.
More arena games where you grow and survive are in .io games and the snake collection, and the habits that keep a long snake alive are in snake game tips.
