Create a Snake-Game using Turtle in Python

Last Updated : 27 Apr, 2025

The Snake Game is a classic arcade game first released in 1976 by Gremlin Industries and published by Sega. The goal is simple to control the snake using arrow keys, collect food to grow longer and avoid hitting the walls or yourself. We’ll build this game in Python using the following modules:

Turtle: A built-in Python library that provides a virtual canvas for drawing shapes and animations.
Time: Used to control game speed.
Random: Helps generate random positions for food on the screen.

Steps to Implement Snake Game

1. In this first step we need to setup these:

Modules: Import turtle, time, and random.
Game Variables: Initialize delay, score and high_score.
Window: Create a 600x600 window with a light blue background (#add8e6).
Snake Head: Create a white square turtle at center (0, 0), initially stopped.
Food: Create a turtle with random shape and color at (0, 100).
Scoreboard: Use a hidden turtle to display current and high scores.

Python

import turtle as t
import random

d = 0.1 # delay
s = 0 # score
hs = 0 # high_score

# screen
sc = t.Screen()
sc.title("Snake Game")
sc.bgcolor("blue")
sc.setup(width=600, height=600)
sc.tracer(0)

# snake head
h = t.Turtle()
h.shape("square")
h.color("white")
h.penup()
h.goto(0, 0)
h.direction = "Stop"

# food
f = t.Turtle()
f.speed(0)
f.shape(random.choice(['square', 'triangle', 'circle']))
f.color(random.choice(['red', 'green', 'black']))
f.penup()
f.goto(0, 100)

# score display
p = t.Turtle()
p.speed(0)
p.shape("square")
p.color("white")
p.penup()
p.hideturtle()
p.goto(0, 250)
p.write("Score : 0  High Score : 0", align="center", font=("candara", 24, "bold"))

2. In this second step, we define the snake's movement controls using the sc.onkeypress() function for keypress events. Here's how it works:

up() sets the snake's direction to "up" unless it's currently moving "down."
down() sets the direction to "down" unless it's moving "up."
left() sets the direction to "left" unless it's moving "right."
right() sets the direction to "right" unless it's moving "left."

sc.listen() function allows the screen to detect keypresses. The Up, Down, Left, and Right Arrow keys call the respective up(), down(), left(), and right() functions to control the snake's movement by adjusting its position along the x or y coordinates.

Python

# Direction functions
def up():
    if h.direction != "down":
        h.direction = "up"

def down():
    if h.direction != "up":
        h.direction = "down"

def left():
    if h.direction != "right":
        h.direction = "left"

def right():
    if h.direction != "left":
        h.direction = "right"

# Movement function
def move():
    if h.direction == "up":
        h.sety(h.ycor() + 20)
    if h.direction == "down":
        h.sety(h.ycor() - 20)
    if h.direction == "left":
        h.setx(h.xcor() - 20)
    if h.direction == "right":
        h.setx(h.xcor() + 20)

# Key bindings
sc.listen()
sc.onkeypress(up, "Up")
sc.onkeypress(down, "Down")
sc.onkeypress(left, "Left")
sc.onkeypress(right, "Right")

# Snake body segments
seg = []

Output

The initial score as the header, white: snake's head, red: fruit

3. In this third step, we implement the core game loop and logic.

Main Game Loop: Continuously updates the game window until stopped.
Boundary Collision: Resets the snake and score if the snake moves outside the boundaries.
Food Interaction: Relocates food, adds a segment, updates score, and increases speed upon collision.
Scoreboard: Updates and displays the current score and high score.
Segment Movement: Each segment follows the one in front, creating a trailing effect.
Head-Segment Collision: Resets the game if the head collides with the body.
Speed Control: The game speed is controlled using time.sleep(delay) to slow down the movement.

Python

# Main Gameplay
while True:
    sc.update()
    
    # Boundary check
    if h.xcor() > 290 or h.xcor() < -290 or h.ycor() > 290 or h.ycor() < -290:
        time.sleep(1)
        h.goto(0, 0)
        h.direction = "Stop"
        f.goto(random.randint(-270, 270), random.randint(-270, 270))
        for seg in seg:
            seg.goto(1000, 1000)
        seg.clear()
        s = 0
        d = 0.1
        p.clear()
        p.write(f"Score : {s} High Score : {hs}", align="center", font=("candara", 24, "bold"))
    
    # Food collision
    if h.distance(f) < 20:
        f.goto(random.randint(-270, 270), random.randint(-270, 270))

        # Adding segment
        n_seg = t.Turtle()
        n_seg.speed(0)
        n_seg.shape("square")
        n_seg.color("orange")
        n_seg.penup()
        seg.append(n_seg)
        d -= 0.001
        s += 10
        if s > hs:
            hs = s
        p.clear()
        p.write(f"Score : {s} High Score : {hs}", align="center", font=("candara", 24, "bold"))
    
    # Move segments
    for i in range(len(seg)-1, 0, -1):
        x, y = seg[i-1].xcor(), seg[i-1].ycor()
        seg[i].goto(x, y)
    
    if len(seg) > 0:
        x, y = h.xcor(), h.ycor()
        seg[0].goto(x, y)
    
    # Move head
    move()

    # Checking for self-collision
    for segment in seg:
        if segment.distance(h) < 20:
            time.sleep(1)
            h.goto(0, 0)
            h.direction = "Stop"
            f.goto(random.randint(-270, 270), random.randint(-270, 270))
            for seg in seg:
                seg.goto(1000, 1000)
            seg.clear()
            s = 0
            d = 0.1
            p.clear()
            p.write(f"Score : {s} High Score : {hs}", align="center", font=("candara", 24, "bold"))
    
    time.sleep(d)

Complete Code

Python

import turtle as t
import random
import time

d = 0.1 # delay
s = 0 # score
hs = 0 # high score

# screen
sc = t.Screen()
sc.title("Snake Game")
sc.bgcolor("blue")
sc.setup(width=600, height=600)
sc.tracer(0)

# snake head
h = t.Turtle()
h.shape("square")
h.color("white")
h.penup()
h.goto(0, 0)
h.direction = "Stop"

# food
f = t.Turtle()
f.speed(0)
f.shape(random.choice(['square', 'triangle', 'circle']))
f.color(random.choice(['red', 'green', 'black']))
f.penup()
f.goto(0, 100)

# score display
p = t.Turtle()
p.speed(0)
p.shape("square")
p.color("white")
p.penup()
p.hideturtle()
p.goto(0, 250)
p.write("Score : 0  High Score : 0", align="center", font=("candara", 24, "bold"))

# Direction functions
def up():
    if h.direction != "down":
        h.direction = "up"

def down():
    if h.direction != "up":
        h.direction = "down"

def left():
    if h.direction != "right":
        h.direction = "left"

def right():
    if h.direction != "left":
        h.direction = "right"

# Movement function
def move():
    if h.direction == "up":
        h.sety(h.ycor() + 20)
    if h.direction == "down":
        h.sety(h.ycor() - 20)
    if h.direction == "left":
        h.setx(h.xcor() - 20)
    if h.direction == "right":
        h.setx(h.xcor() + 20)

# Key bindings
sc.listen()
sc.onkeypress(up, "Up")
sc.onkeypress(down, "Down")
sc.onkeypress(left, "Left")
sc.onkeypress(right, "Right")

# Snake body segments
seg = []
# Main Gameplay
while True:
    sc.update()
    
    # Boundary check
    if h.xcor() > 290 or h.xcor() < -290 or h.ycor() > 290 or h.ycor() < -290:
        time.sleep(1)
        h.goto(0, 0)
        h.direction = "Stop"
        f.goto(random.randint(-270, 270), random.randint(-270, 270))
        for seg in seg:
            seg.goto(1000, 1000)
        seg.clear()
        s = 0
        d = 0.1
        p.clear()
        p.write(f"Score : {s} High Score : {hs}", align="center", font=("candara", 24, "bold"))
    
    # Food collision
    if h.distance(f) < 20:
        f.goto(random.randint(-270, 270), random.randint(-270, 270))

        # Adding segment
        n_seg = t.Turtle()
        n_seg.speed(0)
        n_seg.shape("square")
        n_seg.color("orange")
        n_seg.penup()
        seg.append(n_seg)
        d -= 0.001
        s += 10
        if s > hs:
            hs = s
        p.clear()
        p.write(f"Score : {s} High Score : {hs}", align="center", font=("candara", 24, "bold"))
    
    # Move segments
    for i in range(len(seg)-1, 0, -1):
        x, y = seg[i-1].xcor(), seg[i-1].ycor()
        seg[i].goto(x, y)
    
    if len(seg) > 0:
        x, y = h.xcor(), h.ycor()
        seg[0].goto(x, y)
    
    # Move head
    move()

    # Checking for self-collision
    for segment in seg:
        if segment.distance(h) < 20:
            time.sleep(1)
            h.goto(0, 0)
            h.direction = "Stop"
            f.goto(random.randint(-270, 270), random.randint(-270, 270))
            for seg in seg:
                seg.goto(1000, 1000)
            seg.clear()
            s = 0
            d = 0.1
            p.clear()
            p.write(f"Score : {s} High Score : {hs}", align="center", font=("candara", 24, "bold"))
    
    time.sleep(d)