C++ Snake (terminal)

Simple terminal-based Snake game written in C++ for Windows consoles.

Features

• Simple ASCII rendering using std::cout and system("cls").
• Keyboard input via <conio.h>: arrow keys and WASD supported.
• Wrap-around walls (snake appears on opposite side).
• Fruit placement avoids the snake body.

Files

• main.cpp — full source.

Build (Windows)

This project uses Windows-specific headers (<conio.h>, <windows.h>). It builds on Windows with either MinGW/MSYS2 g++ or Visual Studio (MSVC).

1. Using MSYS2 (recommended)

• Install MSYS2: https://www.msys2.org/
• Open the "MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit" shell and run:

pacman -Syu
# close and re-open the MinGW 64-bit shell after the first step
pacman -S --needed base-devel mingw-w64-x86_64-toolchain

• Then from PowerShell or the MSYS2 MinGW shell compile:

# from the project folder (adjust path to where you cloned/imported the repo)
cd 'C:\path\to\cpp-snake-game'
g++ .\main.cpp -O2 -std=c++17 -o .\snake.exe
.\snake.exe

2. Using MinGW-w64 standalone installer

• Install MinGW-w64 and add the bin directory to your PATH.
• Compile as above using g++ in PowerShell.

3. Using Visual Studio (MSVC)

• Install Visual Studio or the Build Tools.
• Open the "x64 Native Tools Command Prompt" (so cl.exe is on PATH) and run:

REM from the project folder (adjust path to where you cloned/imported the repo)
cl /EHsc "C:\path\to\cpp-snake-game\main.cpp" /Fe:"C:\path\to\cpp-snake-game\snake.exe"

Controls

• Arrow keys or WASD to move the snake.
• Press x (or X) to quit.

Notes

• The game uses a fixed-size tail array (capacity 100). That keeps the code simple but you could replace it with std::vector for dynamic growth.
• If the game seems to exit immediately when run from your editor, try running it from a normal PowerShell window (not the task runner) to ensure the process stays attached to a console.
• To slow the game for debugging, increase the Sleep(100) in main.cpp.

Troubleshooting

• g++ not recognized: make sure MinGW/MSYS2 is installed and the bin folder is on PATH.
• Arrow keys not working in some terminals: run the exe in the Windows Console (cmd.exe / PowerShell) rather than some integrated terminals which may remap keys.

License

• Public domain / MIT — use as you wish.

Enjoy! If you want I can:

• Add a small build.ps1 helper to compile+run from PowerShell.
• Convert the code to use std::vector for the tail and add a few unit tests for helper functions.