About Pixel Winter Games
Pixel Winter Games is a free winter sports game and the snowy companion of Pixel Summer Games. If you remember racing through Playman Winter Games on a Java phone, you will feel at home: this is our own take on that style, with new art, new sounds and new controls. Enter your name and pick your flag (Ukraine is the default), trade your running spikes for skis, skates and a snowboard, and take on seven rivals from countries around the world.
Every event is a real competition: you ski in the pack and shoot next to your rivals, skate in pairs, race a rival down the moguls and share the snowboard track with another. Mountains fading into the haze, forests in front of forests, snow falling at every depth, a packed skating arena and a podium at the end, all in close-up pixel art in your browser, and it keeps working with no connection once the page has loaded.
The four events
- Biathlon mass start: all eight skiers start together on a long course over the hills. Stride in time with the swinging pendulum (left at its left end, right at its right end, quicker on the climbs), tuck on the downhills and use the slipstream. At each of the two ranges, 300 m apart, every skier takes the mat of their own lane and you look through the rifle scope at five targets: press the arrow etched into each one. A hit is +5 points and up to +5 more for a quick shot, a miss is -15. Your result is the points of your time plus the shooting points.
- 2-lap speed skating: pairs, heat by heat. Push off on the pistol with Action, then hold the arrow of each circle that appears beside your skater and let go as it fills round to 12 o'clock, left, right, left. Lunge about a second before the line with Action. The skaters change lanes on the back straight by themselves, and the heat board shows every pair and the time to beat.
- Freestyle: you and a rival on two mogul courses side by side. Press each arrow as it pops up and your skier weaves round the moguls and picks up speed. Clear two fences, one near the start and one near the finish: hold Action on "GET READY" and let go at 12 o'clock. Speed and a clean release mean a long jump and a smooth landing. Fastest time wins.
- Snowboarding: seen from above. Drop in with Action as the gate opens, then just steer down the winding track. Wide lines end in the deep snow, which slows you a lot. Three kickers send you into the air: straighten the board before you land to keep your speed. A rival rides the track with you; fastest time wins.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Phone / tablet | Gamepad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biathlon stride (alternate on the pendulum) | ← → or A D | ◀ ▶ on the round D-pad | D-pad / stick, or LB / RB |
| Tuck on a biathlon downhill | ↓ or S (hold) | ▼ on the D-pad (hold) | D-pad down |
| Shoot a biathlon target (the arrow on it) | ↑ ↓ ← → or W A S D | ▲ ▼ ◀ ▶ on the D-pad | D-pad / stick |
| Skating stroke (hold the circle's arrow, let go at 12) | ← / → (hold) | ◀ / ▶ on the D-pad (hold) | D-pad / stick, or LB / RB |
| Freestyle mogul arrows, snowboard steering | ← → | ◀ ▶ on the D-pad | D-pad / stick |
| Push off on the gun, lunge, fence take-off (hold), drop in | Space / Enter | ACTION in the middle of the D-pad | A |
| Pause | P / Esc | Pause button | Start |
| Mute | M | Speaker button | — |
The on-screen prompts always show the buttons of the controller you are using: keys, the touch D-pad or the gamepad.
Tips and tricks
Ride the pendulum, not the keys
In the biathlon the timing matters, not the speed of your fingers. Press as the needle reaches the end of its swing; an early press, a wrong side or a press in the middle of the swing is a stumble. Tuck on every downhill and tuck in behind a rival on the flats.
Read the target, then fire
The arrow is faint on purpose. Look at the middle of the target as the scope settles on it and press as soon as you are sure: a quick hit is worth twice a slow one, but a miss costs three times as much as a hit earns.
Count to twelve on the ice
Every skating circle takes the same time to come round at a given speed, so find the rhythm: hold, let go at the top, move to the other side. The circles get slower as you speed up, like real strokes getting longer. Save the lunge for the last second, when the bar turns green.
Speed makes the jump
In freestyle a slow approach cannot make a long jump, however clean the release. Keep pressing the mogul arrows quickly until the run-up, then give the circle your full attention.
Turn early on the snowboard
The track bends away under you, so start steering before the corner and let the board run straight on the kickers. The deep snow beside the track costs far more time than a careful line.
Use the practice mode
Every event can be played on its own from Practice, and your personal bests are kept on the Records screen.
Championship and Hardcore
The championship runs all four events in a row. Reach the qualifying mark in each one to move on, and your total points become your score on the leaderboards; the best three totals of the field stand on the podium at the end. Hardcore mode raises the qualifying marks, speeds up the pendulum, the circles and the arrows, fades the marks on the targets, brings the whole field close to world class and has its own table.
Rather have some sun? Try the six events of Pixel Summer Games, race in Pixel Racer or run with Pixel Raptor.
Pixel Winter Games FAQ
Is Pixel Winter Games free?
Yes. The whole championship, practice mode and records are free in your browser with no download or account. Signing in is optional and only used for the online leaderboards.
Is this Playman Winter Games?
No. Pixel Winter Games is an original game inspired by the winter sports games that were popular on Java phones in the mid-2000s, such as Playman Winter Games, and by the classic home-computer winter games. The athletes, nations, art, sounds and code were all created from scratch for NoInternet Arcade.
Can I play it offline?
Yes. Open the page once while connected and your browser keeps the game. After that the slopes load and play with no internet at all, which makes it a good pick for a flight or a long train ride.
Who am I racing against?
Seven rivals from countries around the world, such as the USA, Germany, Japan, Kenya and Jamaica (all athlete names are fictional). Each one has a class, a favorite and a weakest event and a style: steady, fast starter, strong finisher or risk taker. You see them on the course: the whole pack in the biathlon mass start and on the mats next to yours at the ranges, your pair partner on the ice, a rival on the next mogul course and another one riding the snowboard track with you. The intro board of every event names the two rivals to watch.
Can I use my own name and flag?
Yes. Before each championship you get the same name and country screen as in Pixel Summer Games: enter a name of up to 10 letters and digits and pick your country. Type it on a keyboard, pick the letters with the arrows and Action on a gamepad, or tap them on a phone; ◀ ▶ on the flag row changes the country. If you are signed in, your leaderboard nickname is filled in for you, otherwise the last name you used. Your name and flag appear on every results board and on the podium.
How does the biathlon skiing work?
A stride pendulum swings below your skier. Press left as it reaches its left end and right as it reaches its right end: on time is a strong push, early, late or wrong presses slow you down. On the climbs the pendulum swings quicker, on the downhills it stops and you hold down to tuck. Stay right behind a rival for a slipstream.
How do I hit the biathlon targets?
There are two ranges, 300 m apart. Everybody glides onto the mat of their own lane, and you look at your five targets through the rifle scope. Each target has a faint arrow etched into its face under a dusting of snow: press that arrow (up, down, left or right) to hit it. The wrong arrow misses, and so does waiting too long. A hit is worth +5 points plus up to +5 more for a quick shot, a miss costs 15 points, so a perfect shoot over both ranges is +100 and ten misses are -150. Quick shooting also saves time on the course.
How do the 2-lap speed skating strokes work?
Wait for the pistol and press Action to push off; a press before the gun is a false start. Then an empty circle appears to the left or the right of your skater. Hold that arrow and the circle fills clockwise like a clock, from 12 o'clock all the way round; let go as it reaches the top again. The closer to 12, the stronger the stroke, and the bright lime wedge at the top marks the PERFECT zone: the whole circle lights up while the hand is in it. The next circle comes up on the other side. Weak, late or wrong-side strokes cost speed and make you wobble, and too many put you on the ice. About a second before the line, on the green part of the bar, press Action to lunge. A perfect race takes about 34 seconds for both laps.
How do the freestyle jumps work?
Before each of the two fences "GET READY" appears: hold Action and the clock circle fills from 12 o'clock round to 12 again; let go right at the top. The length of the jump comes from your speed into the kicker times how close to 12 you let go, and the landing follows from it: a clean release lands smoothly and keeps your speed, a sloppy one skids or crashes, and a jump that is too short catches the fence. Keep the speed up through the moguls by pressing each arrow as soon as it shows.
What is Hardcore mode?
Switch Difficulty to Hardcore in Options. Qualifying marks are tougher, the stride pendulum is faster with tighter timing, the arrows on the targets are fainter and you have less time to shoot, the clock circles and mogul arrows are quicker, the whole field is close to world class, a false start disqualifies you and there are no continues. Hardcore has its own leaderboard.
How are points calculated?
Each event uses a decathlon-style table: the faster your time, the more points, with about 1000 points for a world-class performance and never more than 1200 for one event. In the biathlon your shooting points are added to the points of your time. Your championship score is the sum of all four events. See where you rank on the Pixel Winter Games leaderboards.
What happened to the ski jump, the bobsleigh and the slalom?
The championship was rebuilt around four events: the biathlon got a second range and scope shooting, the 500 m became 2-lap speed skating, the parallel slalom became freestyle with moguls and fence jumps, and snowboarding took the place of the bobsleigh and the ski jump. Because the totals are on a new scale, the four-event championship has fresh leaderboards.
Related guides
- Pixel Winter Games Guide: Tips for All Four Winter EventsHow the biathlon scope and ranges, the 2-lap skating circles, freestyle moguls and fence jumps and the snowboard track work in Pixel Winter Games, plus qualifying marks.
- Biathlon Explained: Rules, Shooting and How the Game Plays ItHow biathlon works, from the 50 m range and five targets to penalty loops and the mass start, and how Pixel Winter Games turns it into a free browser game.
- Old Java Phone Games: How to Play That Style in a BrowserWhat made mid-2000s Java (J2ME) phone games special, why the originals are hard to play today, and free browser games that bring the same style back.
- Offline Games for a Flight: What to Load Before You BoardHow to get free browser games ready for airplane mode, a pre-flight checklist, and which games fit a short hop, a mid-length flight or a long-haul trip.
Last updated: · NoInternet Arcade
