Winter Game

Winter Game is a cozy festival game set in a snowy dino village. Every festival day has three short activities: build a snowman in the snowman yard, skate a figure on the frozen pond and run the hot cocoa stand for a line of chilly customers. Each activity takes about a minute and gets a little trickier every day. Play Winter Game free online in your browser with no download, on a keyboard, mouse or touch screen.

How to play

• Pick an activity: the village map lists the five festival days and the three activities of the chosen day. Click an activity, or use the arrow keys, then press Play or Enter.
• Unlock the next day: finish all three activities of a day with at least one star each and the next day opens. You can go back and replay any activity to raise your stars.
• Earn the ribbon: clear all fifteen activities to win the festival ribbon. Collect all 45 stars to turn it gold.

The three winter activities

• Snowman yard: a dashed outline on the snow shows the snowman you need to build. Drag the snowball that fits the glowing circle onto it, or tap it, starting with the big base and working up to the head. The snowballs in the pile get closer in size each day, so look carefully. Once the snowman stands, a wish list appears with the decorations the village wants, such as a hat, a scarf, a carrot nose, coal eyes, buttons, stick arms, earmuffs or a flower. Add only what is on the list. Three mistakes and the snowman topples over.
• Skating pond: a dotted figure is drawn on the ice, starting with a simple circle and building up to a figure eight, a winding snake, a flower and a heart. Skate to the flags in order before the time limit runs out. The ice keeps you gliding after you let go, so start each turn a little early. The On the line meter shows how much of your run stayed inside the pale track around the figure.
• Cocoa stand: customers line up with an order bubble that shows the cup size and the toppings they want. Hold the pot to pour cocoa up to the Small, Medium or Large line, add marshmallows, cream, cinnamon or caramel, then press Serve. Pour too far and the cup overflows. If the patience bar runs out, the customer leaves.

Stars and par times

Every activity can earn three stars. The first star is for finishing. In the snowman yard and the cocoa stand the second star is for making one mistake or fewer, and the third is for a run with no mistakes inside the par time shown at the top of the play area. On the skating pond the second star needs 70 percent of your run on the line, and the third needs 85 percent and a finish within par. Your best stars for each activity are saved in your browser, and a weaker run never replaces a better one.

Tips

• Compare against the outline, not the pile. Hold a snowball over the glowing circle before you let go. If it looks a bit too big or too small, it is.
• Read the whole wish list first. The decoration tray always holds eight items, and only some of them are wanted.
• Steer ahead on the ice. With a mouse or finger, hold a short way along the line in front of your skater rather than right on top of it.
• Pour in short bursts. Stop a little before the line and top up. Cocoa only pours while you hold, so a pause never spills.

Controls

With a mouse or touch screen, drag or tap snowballs and decorations, hold anywhere on the pond to skate toward your finger, hold the cocoa pot to pour and tap the jars and the Serve button. On a keyboard, the arrow keys choose snowman items and Space places them, the arrow keys or WASD skate, Space pours cocoa, the number keys 1 to 4 add toppings and Enter serves.

FAQ

Is Winter Game free?

Yes. It is free to play with no account and nothing to install. Pick a day and an activity and press Play.

Does it work on phones and Chromebooks?

Yes. On a phone or tablet every activity works with taps, drags and holds. On a Chromebook or laptop you can play with only the keyboard, only the mouse or a mix of both.

Can I pause?

Press P or Esc, or use the Pause button. The game also pauses when you switch tabs, and the clock stops while paused.

Want more snowy fun? Try Snow Game, or slide stones down the ice in Curling Game.