In Brent Anderson's Snowball's Chance, you play through a series of levels as a snowball. You start typically at one corner of the screen, and somewhere there's a goal you have to get to--sometimes by hitting switches and unlocking them first. The problem is that you don't move with the arrow keys; this game is somewhat billiards-like, in that you nudge your snowball with the mouse pointer, and can increase or decrease the force of your nudge. Some obstacles (like open water) cause insta-death, while wandering opponents can reduce your size. And you're slowly melting (more rapidly on some terrain than others), so you can't tarry.
The result is unusual arcade puzzler with controls different from the norm, and challenges that aren't easy to master. Frustratingly hard at times, in fact--which only serves to increase your satisfaction when you master a particularly difficult level, of course.
Cute, tightly designed--not a huge game, but an engaging one, with gameplay you haven't seen before. And at three bucks, well... Who can complain?
