Snail Bob 3, also known as Snail Bob 3: Egypt Journey or The Nile Mile, continues the adventures of Bob the snail in puzzle platformer environments. After exploring a museum with his grandfather, Bob gets sucked through a magic portal into an alternate Ancient Egypt. The player helps Bob safely traverse dangerous areas between golden tunnels across 20 levels. Along the way, they also collect images to add to a photo gallery.
As with the previous installments, the player must use their common sense and knowledge of simple machines and physics to adjust various elements in each level's scene to open a path for Bob because of obstacles and traps in his way. For example, the player might need to lift a wall, adjust a platform or push an object using a nearby button or lever.
The game features many tools to help the player, including conveyor belts, bouncy bands, pulley systems, lift platforms, laser beams and magic carpets. That said, some of these items can harm Bob. Other threats include electricity, fire and enemies. The player can speed up or stop Bob's movements to gain enough time to determine the correct steps to take to prevent Bob from harm.
Snail Bob 3 also features a hidden-object element in addition to the standard point reward system seen in the other games. The player must search for three stars in each level. The stars often appear camouflaged to match nearby landscape and structural elements or behind other objects. In at least one level, a star flies out from a pipe behind Bob. The player must select it before it falls off the bottom of the screen.
