Microscopic Snake Game: Playable Only With a Microscope

Microscopic Snake Game: A New Low (Resolution) for Classic Gaming

In brief: Snake just got a whole lot smaller. Following a 56-byte QR code version, a microscopic Snake game now exists, requiring a microscope to play!

How it was Made

Software developer Patrick Gillespie created this incredibly tiny game, as shown on his YouTube channel. His goal was to shrink a 15-year-old JavaScript Snake game to utilize individual subpixels of a monitor. Subpixels, the components of a pixel (red, green, and blue), were manipulated to create the game’s visuals. Gillespie used his iMac due to its RGB stripe pixel geometry, overcoming challenges like unintended color bleeding in the green subpixel by switching to a wider gamut LED color space.

Playing the Game

While a microscope is ideal, you can play a browser version at maximum zoom with Windows Magnifier at maximum. It’s less effective, but still playable. Check out the game on Gillespie’s