Play Google Maps Snake
Quick Facts
- Summary
- Guide a train across a city-themed grid, collecting passengers and landmarks while avoiding the edges and your own cars.
- Creator
- Launched
- 2019-04-01
- Status
- Restored
(Discontinued by Google)
Try the Easter Egg
The Original Easter Egg
How It Started
Google launched Snake on Google Maps for April Fools’ Day 2019. At first, you found it inside the Google Maps app with a “Play Snake” option in the menu. After that, you could still play it on its own website, snake.googlemaps.com.
The game started with a city picker, where you chose Cairo, São Paulo, London, Sydney, San Francisco, Tokyo, or World before driving your train onto the board.
What It Did
The game replaced Snake’s usual character with a train on a city-themed grid. The destinations were Cairo, São Paulo, London, Sydney, San Francisco, Tokyo, and World. These boards used city imagery rather than actual street routes.
Collecting passengers, landmarks, and local food items lengthened the train and increased the score. The growing train made it harder to avoid its own cars and the board edges.
Impact and Reach
Each destination borrowed its landmarks, local foods, and transport design from the place it represented. Those details gave the grid game a Google Maps theme without turning its board into a real street map.
Its Discontinuation
The version inside the Google Maps app was only around for about a week, but the separate website stayed online much longer. That website, snake.googlemaps.com, was shut down by early 2025.
The Restored Experience
What’s Different Here
Choose a destination and drive its train around the city-themed board, collecting passengers and landmarks as in the original game. After a run, you can choose another destination or try again. On browsers with a native share menu, the end screen also lets you share a link to the game.
This site adds AI/Bot Mode: switch it on to watch the train choose its route, then turn it off when you want to take over.
The Easter Egg Experience
Click the button above, and the game opens on the city picker. Choose a city, read the short tip about passengers on your first game, then press “Got it”. Use the arrow keys or WASD on a keyboard, or swipe on a touchscreen, to set the train moving.
The train moves one square at a time across the board. Pick up passengers, reach landmarks, and stay away from the edges and your own train cars. Whenever you like, turn on AI/Bot Mode and let the train drive itself for a while.
How to Try It
- Click the button above to open the restored Google Maps Snake game.
- Choose Cairo, São Paulo, London, Sydney, San Francisco, Tokyo, or World.
- On your first game, read the short passenger tip, then press “Got it”.
- Steer the train with the arrow keys, WASD, or swipes.
- Collect passengers and bonus items to lengthen the train and increase your score.
- Stay away from the edges of the board and your own train cars.
- Try AI/Bot Mode when you want the train to drive itself for a while.
Each destination changes the scenery, train design, landmarks, and food items you collect. The movement and collision rules stay the same across all the boards: you travel on a grid, without following the real streets of the chosen city.
Final Thoughts
Changing destinations gives the train a different setting, but the growing trail of cars remains the challenge. Every passenger adds to the score and leaves you with a longer train to guide around the same grid.
Try the Easter Egg
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Google Maps Snake?
Google Maps Snake was an April Fools’ Day game released in 2019. It adapted Snake with trains, city-themed grid boards, and recognizable landmarks.
Collect passengers and bonus items to make the train longer and raise your score. As the train grows, leave yourself room to turn without hitting the board edges or your own cars.
The official website had closed by early 2025. Here, you can still choose a destination, drive its train, and start another run after the game ends.
Which cities and modes can I play?
Choose Cairo, São Paulo, London, Sydney, San Francisco, Tokyo, or World. The destinations share grid-based rules and use different scenery, trains, landmarks, and food pickups.
Drive the train yourself with a keyboard or by swiping. Turn on AI/Bot Mode when you want to watch the train drive itself or learn how it takes the turns.
