6 self-playing arcade game screensavers for Mac

For a whole generation, Snake was the first video game they carried in their pocket. Snake Classic brings back that pea-green LCD, the chunky pixels and the satisfying crunch of a snake that grows one segment at a time – except here, the snake plays itself, and surprisingly well.

It is the most nostalgic screensaver in the collection, and the most hypnotic: the snake hunts for food, coils around itself and, every so often, makes one greedy move too many.

The early-90s first-person shooters changed games forever: chunky textures, grid-based levels and a pace nothing else had. Retro Shooter is an original homage to that era – it wanders through tiled corridors in first person, with pixel-art enemies and a classic status bar, entirely on autopilot.

It is the most technically impressive scene in the collection: a real-time raycaster written from scratch for Metal, running at your display's full resolution.

Falling blocks might be the most-played puzzle idea in history, and it is a fantastic thing to watch someone else play. In Block Drop, a calm AI places every piece, clears lines in neat cascades and keeps the well tidy – the kind of game you'd never manage yourself at that speed.

The neon pieces glow against a dark well, which makes it one of the best-looking game screensavers on a large display.

Rows of pixel aliens marching sideways and stepping down, a lone cannon defending four crumbling bunkers: few images are as instantly recognisable as the fixed shooter of the late 70s. Pixel Invaders is our own crisp, pixel-art tribute, played on autopilot.

The fun is in the details – the bunkers crumble shot by shot, the aliens drop bombs as they march, and the score climbs wave after wave.

Two paddles, one ball, zero rules to learn: the 1972 arcade tennis game is where video games began. Paddle Ball is its endless rally – two computer players returning the ball forever, with a score that ticks up as one of them occasionally misjudges an angle.

It is minimal, black-and-white and impossible not to watch for "just one more point". Turn up the playback speed for a frantic rally, or slow it down for something almost meditative.

A paddle, a ball and a wall of rainbow bricks: the arcade brick-buster is simple enough to understand from across the room, and satisfying enough to keep watching. Brick Breaker's paddle rarely misses, so most rounds end the same satisfying way – with the last brick knocked out and a fresh wall to clear.

It is the most colourful game in the collection, and a great pick for a shared screen in an office or studio.