Games that look like work: flip Snake to a spreadsheet
Boss Key is one of the games that look like work. You play Snake, and a spreadsheet is one key away. Your manager is coming down the hall, so work has to be on your screen before the door opens.
A working day, 9 am to 5 pm, in 90 seconds.
On shift
Business as usual. Footsteps, shadow, handle, door.
Done for todayToday's round done
- Your bestBest
- Next round
Business as usual. Footsteps, shadow, handle, door.
Today's round Close calls 0 Bonus 0 Missed 0 Red-handed 0 Bonus 0
Paused
You're on a break. The clock waits until you press Resume.
Esc flips your screen. Arrows steer.
Pad or swipe steers.
Arrows walk. Space checks a screen.
Tap a desk to walk, again to check.
Time card
- Meeting or Email , Not punched yet
- Boss Key , Not punched yet
- Reorg , Not punched yet
- Seen and Gone , Not punched yet
- You're on Mute , Not punched yet
- Work memes , Not punched yet
- Pizza Party , Not punched yet
- Expense Report , Not punched yet
- Self-Review , Not punched yet
- Close the Door , Not punched yet
- Trust Fall , Not punched yet
- Jargon quiz , Not punched yet
- Real or fake , Not punched yet
- The Application , Not punched yet
- Reply game , Not punched yet
The next shift starts at midnight.
How to play Boss Key
You’re playing Snake on your work monitor, and your manager keeps walking up to your office door. The working day lasts 90 seconds, from 9 am to 5 pm.
There is one button: Boss key. Press it, or Esc or Space, to flip between Snake and a work screen.
Keep Snake on screen for as long as you can. If the door opens on Snake, or you flip back while your manager is still reading, you’re caught and your day ends early.
The three warnings
Your manager’s warnings always come in the same order: footsteps, a shadow on the glass, then the handle.
| Warning | How much |
|---|---|
| The handle turns before the door opens | 0.55 to 0.85 seconds |
| Less warning on each of your manager’s visits | About 14% |
| Your manager’s shortest time from footsteps to door | 1.36 to 1.84 seconds |
| The micromanager’s shortest time from footsteps to door | 1.7 to 2.3 seconds |
| Footsteps that keep walking past your door, from your manager’s third visit on | One in four |
Boss mode: the roles reversed
Boss mode opens when you reach Manager on the career ladder. Now you’re the one walking the floor, trying to catch your team playing Snake. Click a desk to walk there, then click it again or press the Catch button.
| Boss mode | How much |
|---|---|
| Desks on the floor | Four |
| Games of Snake a day | Up to twelve |
| A game nobody interrupts lasts | 3 to 6 seconds |
| Your team hears you walking over from | One and a half desks away or closer |
| From hearing you to glancing up | Up to 0.9 seconds |
| From the glance to the flip | 0.6 seconds, every time |
Good to know
- If you flip at every sound, you lose Snake time to people who are only walking to the printer.
- The tally names the manager you’re up against. The micromanager visits more often, and the consultant comes rarely but fast.
- On a New carpet day, the footsteps reach the door 15% sooner.
- Take your time plays the day at half speed, and a score there never counts as your best. Pause stops the day until you press Resume.
How Boss Key scores
You score for every second Snake is on your screen, plus a bonus for each close call.
| What you do | Points |
|---|---|
| Each second Snake is on your screen | 1 |
| Flip to work with under half a second to spare | 5 for the close call |
| Example: 31 seconds of Snake and two close calls | 41 |
A day lasts 90 seconds, so Snake alone can score 90 at most.
| How the day ends | Grade |
|---|---|
| At work at 5 pm, with 45 seconds of Snake or more | Exceeds expectations |
| At work at 5 pm | Meets expectations |
| Caught at 1 pm or later | Needs improvement |
| Caught before 1 pm | Performance plan |
Boss mode scores
In Boss mode, you score for each screen you catch still showing Snake. A day there can score 180 at most.
| What you do | Points |
|---|---|
| A screen that still shows Snake | 10 |
| Caught before they glance up (red-handed) | 5 more |
| Games caught | Grade |
|---|---|
| 11 or more | Exceeds expectations |
| 8 to 10 | Meets expectations |
| 4 to 7 | Needs improvement |
| 3 or fewer | Performance plan |
Daily and solo rounds
Everyone playing the Daily round today gets the same manager. Solo play deals a fresh one every round.
Why games need a boss key and books don’t
When you’re bored at work, a book on your desk can pass for professional development. Snake on a work screen can’t pass for anything, so one key has to make it vanish.
A boss key only hides the screen. You still have to look like you’re working, and our guide on how to look busy at work ranks the ways to do that by what each one costs.
The history of the boss key
The first boss key game
The first boss key was in Bezare, an Apple II game. Roger Wagner proposed it in March 1981, on a hang-gliding trip in Mexico.
The IBM PC version of Asylum, from 1985, wiped the screen when you pressed F9.
The boss key taken out of Solitaire
Wes Cherry built a boss key into the original Microsoft Solitaire. His bosses had him take it out.
Boss Key puts it back. One press swaps Snake for a ticket board, a team chat or a spreadsheet. They come from our fake work screen, shrunk to fit the game.
Boss buttons on websites
The NCAA’s men’s tournament site has carried a boss button for March Madness since 2005. Car Talk’s site kept one from April 1997 to March 2017, almost 20 years.
The boss key shortcut on Windows and Mac
Windows and Mac both have a boss key shortcut built in.
| Shortcut | What it hides |
|---|---|
| Windows key + D | Every window, until you press it again |
| Command + H on a Mac | The app in front |
| Option + Command + H on a Mac | Everything but the app in front |
Questions about boss keys and looking busy
Is there an office simulator?
Boss Key is a small one that runs in your browser. A working day, 9 to 5, lasts 90 seconds, and your only job is not getting caught playing Snake. On a usual day your manager opens the door about ten times.
What is the boss key on Windows?
Windows key + D hides every window, and the same two keys bring them back once the coast is clear. On a Mac, Command + H hides whichever app you're in.
Are there fake screens?
Yes, and some old games had one built in. Friendlyware's boss key showed a text bar graph labeled Productivity and Time. Today they're web pages, and Boss Key flips to a meeting-cost sheet, a ticket board or a team chat.
What was the first game with a boss key?
Bezare, an Apple II game. Roger Wagner, whose company published it, came up with the key in March 1981 while hang-gliding in Mexico. Wes Cherry later put one in the original Microsoft Solitaire, and his bosses made him remove it.