A multiplayer Snake game written in Elm and Phoenix, with support for both server-based and peer-to-peer gameplay.
Play Now: genericoverlords.com/snaker
The idea should be familiar: you are a snake, and you want to eat randomly appearing apples. This makes you grow. Apples appear for a brief time, then reappear somewhere else.
Snaker supports two multiplayer modes:
- P2P Mode - Serverless peer-to-peer connections using WebRTC (PeerJS). One player hosts and shares a room code or QR code with others. No server required after the initial page load.
- Phoenix Mode - Traditional server-based multiplayer using Phoenix channels. Game state is managed on the server.
Your mode preference is saved locally and remembered between sessions.
To start the system:
- Install Elixir dependencies:
mix deps.get - Install Node.js dependencies:
npm install - Start Phoenix endpoint:
mix phx.server
Now you can visit localhost:4000 from your browser.
For P2P-only deployment without a Phoenix server:
npm run build:staticThis generates a standalone dist/index.html that can be hosted on any static file server.
- Elm frontend:
/assets/src/(Elm 0.19.1) - Phoenix backend:
/lib/ - JavaScript interop:
/assets/js/(TypeScript)
The build uses esbuild with the Elm plugin. Run npm run watch for development with hot reloading.
assets/
src/ # Elm source files
Main.elm # Application entry point
Engine/ # Game logic (collision, grid, apple spawning)
Network/ # P2P host/client game management
View/ # UI components (board, scoreboard, connection UI)
js/ # TypeScript for JS interop
app.ts # Entry point, wires Elm ports
socket.ts # Phoenix channel connection
peerjs-ports.ts # WebRTC P2P connections
lib/
snaker/ # Elixir game logic
snaker_web/ # Phoenix web layer
- Experiment with WebGL and/or WebGPU
- "Levels" and other interesting features