Snafu (video game)
Encyclopedia
Snafu is a video game released by Mattel
for its Intellivision
video game system in 1981. One of a number of similar video games released in the early 1980s, Snafu features players controlling ever-lengthening serpents as they attempt to corner their opponents and trap them.
"Trap" games may be played by either one or two players; if a controller is not used, the computer assumes control of that player's character. When the round starts, colored serpents appear on the screen inside a rectangular playfield and begin to grow. The object is to box in the opponents' serpents, forcing them to collide with the edges of the playfield or with another serpent, including itself. Players may move horizontally or vertically, although some variations allow diagonal movement. There also may be additional obstacles on the screen and/or two extra computer-controlled lines (for a total of four lines on-screen at once), again depending on the gameplay variation selected. Points are scored by the surviving player(s) whenever an opponent line crashes.
"Bite" games are played by two players, with no computer-controlled opponents. At the start of the round, each serpent grows until it reaches a set length. Players must direct their serpents toward the tail of their opponent. Each time the head of a serpent contacts the tail of the opponent, the opponent serpent loses a segment. Segments are also lost if the serpent collides with the edges of the playfield or with an obstacle. After a period of time, serpents can regrow segments up to a maximum of double the original length. When a player's serpent loses all its segments, the surviving serpent wins the round.
and a prototype handheld game developed by Mattel Electronics but never released. As development continued, Minkoff began calling the game Ssssnakes!, to the point of including the name on the game's start-up screen. However, Mattel had decided to name the game Snafu after the military acronym
, even though Minkoff believed there was no connection between the game and the acronym's meaning.
personal computer in 1983. Snafu was later re-released as part of the Intellivision Lives! collection for computers and other video game consoles, like the PlayStation 2
and Nintendo GameCube
. In August 2010, Snafu was made available on Microsoft's
Game Room
service for its Xbox 360
console and for Games for Windows Live.
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
for its Intellivision
Intellivision
The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...
video game system in 1981. One of a number of similar video games released in the early 1980s, Snafu features players controlling ever-lengthening serpents as they attempt to corner their opponents and trap them.
Gameplay
Snafu contains 16 different game variations based around two game formats, "Trap" (12 variations) and "Bite" (4 variations). Before gameplay begins, players select the speed of the game, then the desired gameplay variation and finally the number of rounds (up to 99) for that game."Trap" games may be played by either one or two players; if a controller is not used, the computer assumes control of that player's character. When the round starts, colored serpents appear on the screen inside a rectangular playfield and begin to grow. The object is to box in the opponents' serpents, forcing them to collide with the edges of the playfield or with another serpent, including itself. Players may move horizontally or vertically, although some variations allow diagonal movement. There also may be additional obstacles on the screen and/or two extra computer-controlled lines (for a total of four lines on-screen at once), again depending on the gameplay variation selected. Points are scored by the surviving player(s) whenever an opponent line crashes.
"Bite" games are played by two players, with no computer-controlled opponents. At the start of the round, each serpent grows until it reaches a set length. Players must direct their serpents toward the tail of their opponent. Each time the head of a serpent contacts the tail of the opponent, the opponent serpent loses a segment. Segments are also lost if the serpent collides with the edges of the playfield or with an obstacle. After a period of time, serpents can regrow segments up to a maximum of double the original length. When a player's serpent loses all its segments, the surviving serpent wins the round.
Development
Programmer Mike Minkoff began work on the game under the working title Blockade+Snakes, which was based on the inspirations of the two game variations, the board game BlockadeBlockade (board game)
Blockade is a "the Beat the Barrier" board game for two players, invented by Mirko Marchesi and published by Lakeside in 1975. The newer strategy game Quoridor shares many of the same characteristics as Blockade.-Gameplay and rules:...
and a prototype handheld game developed by Mattel Electronics but never released. As development continued, Minkoff began calling the game Ssssnakes!, to the point of including the name on the game's start-up screen. However, Mattel had decided to name the game Snafu after the military acronym
SNAFU
SNAFU is an acronym that stands for situation normal: all fucked up. It is sometimes bowdlerized to all fouled up or similar. In simple terms, it means that the normal situation is in a bad state, as it always is, therefore nothing unexpected. It is usually used in jest, or as a sign of frustration...
, even though Minkoff believed there was no connection between the game and the acronym's meaning.
Ports
A version of Snafu was released for Mattel's short-lived AquariusMattel Aquarius
Aquarius is a home computer designed by Radofin and released by Mattel in 1983. It features a Zilog Z80 microprocessor, a rubber chiclet keyboard, 4K of RAM, and a subset of Microsoft BASIC in ROM. It connects to a television set and uses a cassette tape recorder for secondary data storage...
personal computer in 1983. Snafu was later re-released as part of the Intellivision Lives! collection for computers and other video game consoles, like the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
. In August 2010, Snafu was made available on Microsoft's
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Game Room
Game Room
Game Room is a gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room lets players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores...
service for its Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
console and for Games for Windows Live.