You know what? I didn’t just remember Nibbles (for a deeper dive into its origins, see the Wikipedia page on Nibbles). I loaded it up. I ran the real thing. Old school. QBASIC and all.
I grew up on this game on a hand-me-down 486. Now I run it in DOSBox on my Windows laptop. It’s the same blocky charm. Same beeps from the PC speaker sound. Same little lurch in my chest when the snake gets too long and I clip my own tail. Some habits don’t age. If you’re curious where Nibbles sits among the rest of the classics, you can skim my countdown of the best DOS games of all time for context.
How I Actually Launch It
- I start DOSBox.
- I go to the folder with NIBBLES.BAS.
- I type QBASIC, open NIBBLES.BAS, and hit F5 to run.
That’s it. Very bare bones. No mouse. No splashy logo. Just text art and a menu that asks how fast you want to go. Remember, NIBBLES.BAS shipped as one of the sample programs bundled with MS-DOS 5—MobyGames keeps a handy catalog of the whole pack. If you'd rather skip the setup and jump straight into browser-based nostalgia, Nibbles and tons of other classics await on DOS Games Online. While you’re there, poke through my roundup of the best MS-DOS games of all time—Nibbles’ cousins are waiting.
I stick with speed 5 most days. Speed 7 is chaos on a trackpad, and my pride doesn’t need that. Speaking of dialing in just the right pace for maximum fun, you could also trade pixel races for face-to-face sprints at a round of Speed Dating in Minot—the event lines up a series of rapid introductions so you can meet a whole roster of potential matches in one energetic evening.
If you’re on a laptop with no number pad, turn on Num Lock. Or remap keys in the code. Yes, you can edit it. It’s a BASIC file. It’s friendly.
The Feel: Fast, Blocky, Loud
Nibbles is Snake with a twist: you chase numbers in order—1, then 2, then 3—up to 9. Each bite makes your snake longer. The walls change by level. Early ones are fine, then you hit a stage with a tight spiral and think, “Nope.” But you try anyway.
Controls:
- I steer with the numpad: 8 up, 2 down, 4 left, 6 right.
- When my brother joined, he used the arrow keys. Two-player on one keyboard. Elbow wars included.
Every pick-up goes beep. Crashing goes BEEP. It’s harsh. It’s also perfect. If I mute it, I miss it. I’m complicated.
Real Moments That Stuck
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Level with the Plus Sign: There’s a stage shaped like a big +. I kept hooking the corner on the bottom arm. Three runs gone in under a minute. I got mad and slowed the speed to 4. First try after that? Clean pass. Felt like cheating, but the game didn’t complain.
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Two-Player Chaos: My brother and I tried co-op. We weren’t really co-anything. He boxed me in near the left wall, on purpose. I cut through a tiny gap and he clipped his tail. He blamed “input lag.” Sure, man.
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Tiny Code Edit, Big Smile: Inside the BAS file, there’s a section with colors and settings. I changed the snake color to a bright green and bumped the starting lives to 5. I also found the little tune lines (SOUND). I didn’t break anything, and that’s rare for me.
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Speed 7 Regret: I went bold. Speed 7. I made it to number 5 on a maze level and panicked. My fingers over-steered. I drove straight into my own body like a lawn chair folding. I went right back to 5 after that. Lesson learned.
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DOSBox Tweak: At first, the game felt too fast. I lowered DOSBox cycles until the movement felt steady, not twitchy. It’s weird—frame pacing matters on a 30-year-old game.
Moments like these are why the game regularly sneaks onto my broader write-up of the best DOS games ever told and refuses to budge.
What I Like
- Tight game loop. Eat numbers, grow, don’t crash. Simple, but it ramps up.
- Levels change the mood. Straight edges. Spirals. Crosses. Little traps.
- Two players on one keyboard. Silly and loud, the good kind.
- You can read the code. It’s short and commented. Great for curious kids. Or me, who is basically a kid with coffee.
- It loads instantly. No fluff. Just play.
What Bugged Me
- Laptop life is rough. No numpad means awkward keys.
- The beeps can sting if your volume is up. I’ve jumped. More than once.
- There’s no save. You lose, you start fresh.
- Controls are crisp, but on high speed, it can feel too slippery in DOSBox if cycles are off.
- If you want games that aged with a few more quality-of-life perks, flip through the best MS-DOS games I still think about for options.
Tiny Tips That Helped
- Start at speed 4 or 5. Move up once your hands relax.
- Use the edges to plan turns. Don’t hug your tail.
- On maze levels, watch the order of numbers. Don’t cut off your exit.
- Tweak DOSBox cycles down if the game feels hyper.
- If two-player, set house rules. No “accidental” bumps. Or do. It’s fun.
Need ideas for your next nostalgia hit once the snake’s curled up? Check out my top 10 old DOS games I still think about and pick your next rabbit hole.
Who This Is For
- Retro fans who like the bite-size, no-nonsense stuff.
- Parents or teachers who want a light intro to code. Open the file. Read the comments. Change a color. Boom—little win.
- Anyone who needs a five-minute break that weirdly turns into thirty.
Final Take
Nibbles still works because it’s honest. It’s fast. It’s fair. It punishes lazy moves, but it never feels mean. I keep coming back when I want a quick hit of focus and a little grit.
That mini shot of adrenaline pairs nicely with keeping your body’s baseline dialed in—turns out magnesium is a quiet hero in regulating testosterone and, by extension, mental sharpness; this research deep-dive on magnesium and testosterone breaks down the science clearly and offers practical takeaways to keep your concentration humming for your next marathon DOS session.
I won’t pretend it’s deep. It’s not. But when that “9” spawns on the far edge and you thread the gap with one square to spare—tell me your heart doesn’t jump. Mine does. Every single time.
If this vignette wasn’t enough, I unpack even more memories in I Played Nibbles on DOS Again, and Yep, It Still Slaps.
—Kayla Sox