One keyboard, two modes. Type in INSERT and every letter grows your trail; flip to NORMAL and carve with hjkl. Bank words for streak, outlast the decay, and shout a power in CAPS to fire it.
It's modal, like vim. INSERT is for typing your trail; NORMAL is for moving it. Tab flips between them — i / a / o dive in, Esc pops back out. The mode you're in decides what every key does.
In INSERT, each correct letter advances your head one cell — the word you're typing literally becomes your body. Press Space to commit it, bank the word, and build streak.
In NORMAL, move like vim: h j k l (or arrows). Prefix a count to dash — 6j sends you six cells south. Press . to repeat the last motion and u to undo a keystroke.
Every committed word feeds your streak, and streak is your shield against incoming heads. Idle for 10s and your tail starts to rot, cell by cell — there's no camping in the arena.
Solid # walls box the lattice and it scales to the player count. Your trail, every rival's trail, and the wall all kill on contact — the cursor blinks red when the next cell is death.
Grab a pickup to arm a power — mine, siphon, swap, blink, overclock, firewall — then type its claim phrase in CAPS to fire it. HOTPOTATO drops a mine; FLOORIT overclocks; NOTHANKS raises a firewall.
No mouse, ever. Press ? in a match for this same sheet, live.