Loser initially on snakes — these better? (7)
I believe the answer is:
ladders
'these better?' is the definition.
The definition suggests an adverb but the answer is not.
'loser initially on snakes' is the wordplay.
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'snakes' becomes 'adders' (adder is a kind of snake).
The initial letter of 'loser' is 'l'.
'l'+'adders'='LADDERS'
(Other definitions for ladders that I've seen before include "Climbing devices" , "Hose runners" , "Raddles (anag.)" , "Rows of rungs" , "Sets of steps" .)