Name of game:

Brief description of the game:

Our game has a similar concept to the game Snake, a casual video game that originated
during the late 1970s in arcades(Figure 1.1), but with the use of magnets and their
properties. The objective of the game is to move
the Snakes head (a magnet) by utilizing another
magnet under the board, thus attracting the snake
head and having full mobility of the snake head on
the board. Players have to attract the other
magnets and induced paper clips that are
scattered across the board. The magnets will
stack up on top of the Snakes head after being
attracted, thus making the manoeuvre of the
Snakes head
harder as the game continues, increasing its difficulty as the game progresses. Some of
the magnets will also be placed to repel from the Snakes head and are designed to act as
obstacles; being dummy bait and will never be attracted by the magnet, thus players who
try to attract these magnets will have less time to complete their game. The game ends
when a time limit of 1 minute is up, or when any part of the Snake gets attracted by the
magnets placed at the sides of the board. The number of magnets and paper clips
attracted for each player will be recorded, a paper clip worth 1 point, and a magnet worth 3
points. The player with the most points wins the game. Shown below is the top and side
view of our game.(Figure 1.2, 1.3)

Rules of the game:

1. Players can only control the snakes head by using a magnet that is placed
under the table. Any attempt to move the board or the magnets/paper
clips/obstacles above will be disqualified.
2. Players cannot stop the snake when the game is in play, the snake must move
continuously and any cease in movement will result in a restart of the game.
3. Players can only move the snake in a forward, left and right direction, any other
direction (diagonal, backwards etc.) is strictly not allowed.
4. No part of the snake is supposed to be attracted to the magnets placed along
the sides or fall off the board. Doing so would end the game before the time limit
is up.
5. Players have to stop moving the Snake once the time limit is up.

Magnetic properties involved

The first magnetic property displayed is the magnetic property of unlike poles attracting.
This magnetic property is shown in the first rule of
the game, where the player must use a permanent
magnet under the table to manipulate the snake
head, which is also a permanent magnet, instead
of directly moving it with contact. Each magnet
has two poles, at which the attractive force seems
greatest. The poles are called north-seeking, or
north (N), and south-seeking, or south (S).The
magnet As shown in figure 3.1 and 3.2 , the
player uses the magnet at the bottom of the platform to
control the magnet on top. The two magnets are placed in such a way that unlike poles are
facing each other. These unlike poles of two magnets are placed close to each other, the

magnetic field lines link, causing the magnets to attract each other.
This is also shown by the walls of the game as
displayed in figure 3.3 , where if a player moves
the snake too close to the wall, the magnet on the
wall would immediately attract the snake and the
player would lose the game. The cause for this is
due to the property of unlike poles attracting to
each other. The second magnetic property shown
is that objects( iron paper clips which are used as
part of the snakes body) that are made of
ferromagnetic material can gain magnetic
properties themselves via magnetic induction. In the
presence of a magnet, the paper clip made from such
magnetic materials will itself become a magnet.The wall
(made of magnets ) attracts the paper clips etc. because
the pole of the magnet closest to the object produces an
unlike pole in the nearest part of the object. For example,
the N pole of the magnet will produce an S pole in the
part of the object closest to it.This is displayed when the
snake head is attracting the other paperclips and
magnets to form the body; the paper clip in turn gains the ability to attract the snake body
and snake tail, which are also made of ferromagnetic material, on its own like a magnet.
Lastly, the magnetic property of
repulsion will also be shown. Magnets
will be placed in the playing area to act
as obstacles, as depending on how the
player moves the snake head, the
magnet might repel or attract the snake
head and vice versa.