Taneli Armanto is a name that probably not many of you are familiar with. However, his most notable creation is something that wasted dozens of hours of my life and probably the lives of most of the people who read this blog. Taneli Armanto is the creator of Snake, one of the most widely played and most recognized games of all time.


Back in the days when Nokia ruled the wireless world, some 400 million Nokia devices were sold with Snake on board. If everyone who owned a Nokia played just one hour of Snake (that’s a pretty modest estimate) then that would mean that humankind spent a cumulative 45,000+ years directing a line around their phone chasing a pixelated flower while trying to avoid hitting their tail. Just thinking about the sheer volume of four letter words shouted as a result of losing this game is enough to make even the most grizzled Marine blush.


So, is this evil genius who has left a swath of lost time and blistered thumbs in his wake rotting in a prison for these crimes against society? Of course not! He’s releasing a new, reinvented version of his original game and it looks like quite the nostalgic joyride.


Snake Rewind is the title of Taneli’s new creation and it was built with the help of developer Rumilus Design. The game follows the same basic blueprint as the original title, but with a few changes and enhancements. The graphics are of course updated, sound effects and music have been added, and a new option to rewind time after crashing is a welcome addition. The new title will be free to play but it will feature a ‘fruit store’ where upgrades, new levels and special items can be purchased with fruit collected while playing the game or with real money (in other words, there are IAPs). If you want to get an early peek at the new game in action then check out the video below.



I wish Mr. Armanto luck with his new endeavor, and boy is he going to need it. There is a wee bit more competition in the mobile games industry today than there was in 1997.