Workshop › Snake › Step 1 of 28

Snake: Find the canvas

Steer a growing snake to the food without hitting the walls or yourself. Grids, arrays, the game loop and keyboard input.

What we are doing

Games are drawn on a <canvas>: a rectangle of pixels on the page. The page already has one with the id game. First we get hold of it from JavaScript.

```js
const canvas = document.getElementById('game')
```

What it means

• document is the page. getElementById('game') finds the element whose id is game.
• const canvas = gives what was found a name, so later lines can use it.

Your turn

Write the line under the three comment lines, then press Run.

Skills: Drawing on a canvas

Get the pen →

All steps

1. Find the canvas
2. Get the pen
3. Paint the board
4. Think in cells
5. Keep the position in a variable
6. A function that draws
7. A function that moves
8. The game loop
9. Slow it down
10. A direction to move in
11. Steer with the arrow keys
12. A body made of a list
13. Move the whole body
14. Pick a spot for the food
15. Draw the food
16. Eat and grow
17. Never put food on the snake
18. A table of turns
19. No U-turns
20. Crash into the walls
21. Crash into yourself
22. The game over message
23. Show the score
24. One function that starts a game
25. Play again with Space
26. Remember the best score
27. Speed up as you grow
28. Build it yourself: through the walls