No. Snafu is not distributed on Steam, so there is no Steam Charts or SteamDB player count for it. Its live popularity is tracked here via Twitch viewership instead.

What platforms is Snafu on?

Snafu is available on Intellivision, Mattel Aquarius.

When did Snafu release?

Snafu was first released on October 15, 1981.

Snafu

Oct 15, 1981ArcadeIntellivisionMattel Aquarius

Snafu — frequently asked questions

Is Snafu on Steam?: No. Snafu is not distributed on Steam, so there is no Steam Charts or SteamDB player count for it. Its live popularity is tracked here via Twitch viewership instead.
What platforms is Snafu on?: Snafu is available on Intellivision, Mattel Aquarius.
When did Snafu release?: Snafu was first released on October 15, 1981.

About Snafu

The contest is on! Create a maze to corner your opponents...before you are cornered yourself. Split-second reflexes keep your trail in motion -- while blocking your opponent and/or the computer in a trap from which there is no escape. Or direct a hungry serpent after your opponent, and bite his tail off before he bites yours. It's a twisting tangle which only the swift survive. 16 game variations put you in control. Trap Games (12 variations) -- To keep your trail moving without colliding -- and to block your opponents' trails so that they are forced into collisions. Trails that collide with others, with the edge of the picture, with obstacles or themselves are eliminated. Bite Games (4 variations) -- To make contact between the head of your serpent and the tail of your opponent's serpent, "biting" off one link with each contact. The winner is the surviving serpent.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Platforms: Intellivision, Mattel Aquarius
Developer: Mattel Electronics
Publisher: Mattel Electronics
Game modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Split screen
Themes: Action

Details via IGDB.

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Built by
Intellivision	1981	$4	$10	$17	Mike Minkoff

Also released on: Mattel Aquarius. We haven’t priced or authenticated that version yet.

Collector value & authenticity

Intellivision · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-20

Loose

Complete

$10

Sealed

$17

How often it sells

Loose: about once a month
Complete: about 2 times a month
Sealed: about once a month

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-20.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $2.62 in Apr 2009, $6.00 five years ago, and $3.88 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2010	$2.69	—
Jan 2011	$1.70	—
Jan 2012	$2.06	—
Jan 2013	$2.99	—
Jan 2014	$2.99	$5.00
Jan 2015	$3.99	$3.25
Jan 2016	$3.35	$7.99
Jan 2017	$4.00	$7.00
Jan 2018	$5.99	$5.99
Jan 2019	$4.36	$4.75
Jan 2020	$4.95	$5.99
Jan 2021	$5.00	$8.25
Jan 2022	$4.86	$10.38
Jan 2023	$7.24	$10.76
Jan 2024	$4.62	$9.99
Jan 2025	$5.00	$10.31
Jan 2026	$3.99	$10.00
Oct 2026	$3.88	$9.93

Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.

Release record

Territory	Product #
North America Mattel Electronics	3758

North America: Product number confirmed by the game's own manual.

Source: Product numbers: each confirmed by the game's own manual, a publisher-prefix UPC that encodes it, a box scan, or INTV Funhouse's collector list where Mattel's own 1979–83 catalogues or manual order forms print the same number; barcodes from PriceCharting, check digits verified

Region: NA
Released: 1981
Controller: Hand controller
Players: 1 or 2
Authenticity: Low

Modern re-releases are not tracked for the IntellivisionLow counterfeit risk

Intellivision prices, all games & how to spot a fake

A Mattel line-drawing game that did more with the disc than its Surround-style rivals, and that Electronic Games called the most ornate of its kind.

Mattel Electronics released Snafu in October 1981. It belongs to the line-building family in which each player trails a growing wall behind them, and it can be played alone or against another person. Electronic Games, in August 1982, noted a revival of the style and called Snafu easily the most ornate treatment of the idea yet, since it makes full use of the Intellivision controller's ability to enter detailed commands.

Wikipedia credits Russell Lieblich with the score, and a Computer Entertainer interview with a Mattel sound designer recalled writing music for the game and hearing it by chance on a televised basketball game.

What the press said at the time

“Snafu is easily the most ornate treatment of the concept ever attempted. … Snafu is a solid game that furnishes Intellivisionaries with the chance to sample a type of abstract strategic battle of wits that has previously been unavailable for this popular videogame system.”
— Electronic Games, August 1982

Also on other platforms

Mattel Aquarius

Intellivision

Mike Minkoff

Mattel Aquarius. Snafu also came out on Mattel's short-lived Aquarius computer in 1983.

Worth knowing

From the Intellivision manual. There are 12 Trap games, where you keep your trail moving and block opponents, plus Bite games where a serpent bites links off the opponent's tail.
From the Intellivision manual. Bite games need two human players; a serpent left to the computer just paces back and forth until it eats itself.
From the Intellivision manual. You pick the number of rounds, any number from 1 to 99.

Before you buy

A complete Mattel copy has two keypad overlays, and Snafu is one of the games that uses the keypad for its extra controls, so missing overlays matter. Loose copies are inexpensive; the box and manual add a moderate premium.