Top 5 iOS and Android games to play when it snows
Have yourself a snowBALL
As a species, humans have a funny relationship with snow.
For many - especially kids - snow is the stuff of dreams. Most children start doing excited cartwheels the moment flakes start falling, with parents forced to hold their offspring back by their hoods just to keep the eager adolescents from leaping out the window and lobbing snowballs at the cat.
For others, however, snow is a nothing more than a floaty white nuisance. A meteorological irritant that interferes with train timetables, renders roads unusable, and turns children into projectile-throwing horrors.
Whether you're a lover or a hater of fluffy white precipitation, we've cobbled together a list of the best snow-themed iOS and Android games to keep your thumbs warm during a whiteout.
Ski SafariBy Brendan Watts & Shawn Eustace - buy for iPhone, iPad, and Android
At the top of the list, we have powder-packed downhill racer Ski Safari.
In this chilly take on the endless-runner genre, you guide a skier down hazardous slopes, performing stunts and collecting coins as you go.
An icy thrill which you can enjoy from the warmth of your home, Ski Safari is the perfect game for anyone who likes the idea of extreme winter sports but wants to avoid the inevitable fractured tibia.
LostWinds 2: Winter of the MelodiasBy Frontier Developments - buy for iPhone and iPad
For this excellent season-switching platformer, Frontier has conjured up this perfect arctic wonderland.
Because it's really nice, though, the Cambridge-based studio also sees fit to give you the keys to Mother Nature's toolbox.
In LostWinds 2, protagonist Toku can harness the power of winter, whipping snowflakes into snowballs, and freezing his enemies where they stand. He can also turn waterfalls into giant icicles - a handy trick if you find fishing rods a tad inefficient.
SnowJinksBy Uppercut Games - buy for iPhone and iPad
If you like throwing snowballs but dislike soggy gloves, frostbite, and everything else associated with throwing actual snowballs, then SnowJinks is the game for you.
For those familiar with Uppercut Games's previous title Epoch, you'll recognise the cover-and-fire mechanic in the company's frosty offering almost immediately.
In terms of SnowJinks's narrative, mind, you play as a kid who must defend his neighbourhood by flattening local bullies with volley after volley of icy cold justice.
Winter WalkBy Monster and Monster - download free for Android
In this pixel-art endless-walker, you are cast as a Dickensian dandy in a top hat out for a stroll in the snow.
Your job is to make sure that our auspicious hero doesn't lose his hat to a sudden gust of wind. Tap the screen to keep your headgear on your bonce, or let it fly away and get a street urchin to collect it for you.
A silly, simple game with a decent sense of humour.
Angry Birds SeasonsBy Rovio - buy for iPhone, iPad, and Android
As it does every year, Rovio updated Angry Birds Seasons with some festive levels over the Christmas period.
Unfortunately, the powers that be in Britain didn't get the memo explaining the concept of a 'white Christmas', so we all drowned in rain, instead.
Now the snow is finally here, we can truly embrace the chilly delight of watching a cold bird smash into a frozen pig.
It's the simple things, you know?
