A SkiFree Android port just hit Google Play, which means the inescapable ’90s PC game is finally available for your phone. However, don’t let the name fool you. If you want to ski, you have to pay a small amount.
Anyone who had access to a Windows computer in the 90s probably has a predominant memory of SkiFree. For some, it can evoke intense nostalgia for the time wasted pulling up the slopes with your little pixelated skier.
Others may have lingering trauma from the relentless and relentless pursuit of the SkiFree yeti.
It’s all downhill from here
The premise of the game is quite simple. You control a little man with skis and a funny hat. You do this with the mouse or the arrow keys and you can choose one of the three tracks to ski down.
Going downhill you build up speed and you have to avoid obstacles. You can ski between flags to collect points. When you get further than a certain distance downhill, a yeti will appear and probably eat you.
The funny thing about the SkiFree Android port is that the game was never really intended for release, commercial or otherwise.
A hobby project changed Microsoft Classic
Microsoft programmer Chris Pirih developed the game as a fun exercise. It reached the public only because the Windows Entertainment Pack program manager saw him play it at work.
The manager was so impressed with the game that he included it in the 1991 package and the rest is history.
Your conclusion from this probably shouldn’t be that playing games in the office during working hours is the secret to success, but we’re not in charge of you.
Interested in some more intense nostalgia? Check out our emulation news on Ratchet And Clank on the AetherSX2.
