Snail Bob Series in Order: Snail Bob 1 to 6

Snail Bob is a series of six main games by Andrey Kovalishin, published under the Hunter Hamster name. All six are on this site: the first as the HTML5 edition, and 2 to 6 as their original Flash files running on Ruffle. The rules never change. Bob crawls by himself, you work the machines, and clicking Bob hides him in his shell. Here is what each game adds.

1. Snail Bob

The first game sends Bob looking for a new house along a map called Long Way Home. It has 20 levels of levers, springs, lifts and bridges, with a score that starts at 301 and counts down every half second. It is the shortest of the six and the best place to learn the timing.

2. Snail Bob 2

Snail Bob 2 opens with Bob reading the paper at home, and the first level spells out the goal: a dangerous forest stands between Snail Bob and the party. The map is a winding forest trail, and the first level already mixes a spring, a lever and a row of spikes. The menu adds a language switch and an Intro button to rewatch the comic.

3. Snail Bob 3: Egypt Journey

Snail Bob 3 opens with Bob and his grandpa in front of a strange golden ring, and the first level greets you with WELCOME TO EGYPT. This is where stars arrive: three per level, 75 in all across 25 levels, and a Gallery that fills with pictures as you find them. Stars are hidden in the scenery, so a level can be finished without all of them.

4. Snail Bob 4: Space

Snail Bob 4 moves to a space station. Its first level introduces the series' best trick, a button that flips gravity. Bob ends up walking on the ceiling, and every level after that plays with which way is down. Again 25 levels and 75 stars.

5. Snail Bob 5: Love Story

In Snail Bob 5, Bob sees a poster of a singing snail with a microphone and heads off to find her. The forest is greener and the traps are nastier: a mistake ends in a Game Over bubble with a restart button. The menu gains a Play Other Snail Bob Games panel; on this site those links stay closed.

6. Snail Bob 6: Winter Story

Snail Bob 6 is the Christmas one: a calendar on the 25th, stockings on the fireplace, snow on every ledge. It has 25 levels and four mini-games that unlock with stars. Its credits list Andrey Kovalishin for code and levels, Maxim Yurchenko for graphics and levels, Alexander Ahura for music, and Box2D as the physics engine.

Which one first?

Play them in order if you can. Each game is its own story, but the puzzles build: the first teaches timing, 3 adds stars, 4 adds gravity. If you only have one lunch break, start with the first game for the basics, then jump to 4 for the most inventive levels.

Tips that work in every Snail Bob

• Click Bob as soon as a level starts. He hides, and you can look at everything first.
• Clickable parts are marked (dotted circles in the first game, a pointing hand in the later ones). Everything else is scenery or moves by itself.
• In the Flash games, click once inside the game so it has focus before you start.
• Stars (from 3 on) are often off the direct path. Get Bob home first, then replay for them.

New to the series? The first-game guide explains the controls and walks through level 1.