How to play

Pip runs forward automatically. Hold your phone sideways and use the play area and the two on-screen buttons.

Jump: tap the play area, away from the buttons, to clear gaps and high steps. With Double Jump, tap again in mid-air for a second leap.

Slide: hold SLIDE to stay low under overhead bars. Release it to stand up.

Shoot: after obtaining a Snow Gun, tap SHOOT to fire a snowball. Auto Shot is a separate shop upgrade.

Underwater is different: in Stage 4, tap to dive down. Stop tapping to float up. Steer between the seabed rocks and hanging ice.

Start with Easy in Settings if you want more time to learn the rhythm.

Watch the HUD: lives and time keep your run going. SCORE is your score; CLAMS and FISH are the currency you can spend in shops.

Fish: earn points and one unit of shop currency.
Clam: adds one unit of shop currency.
Clock: adds 12 seconds.
Heart: adds one life.
Snow Gun: enables snowball shooting.
Star: gives temporary invincibility. Still watch gaps and the timer.
Flashlight: helps you see ahead in the dark.

Keep an eye on the route as well as the pickups. Jump gaps and ground hazards, and slide beneath overhead obstacles. The falling shooting stars are hazards, not the invincibility pickup.

Find a shop: when Pip drops into a narrow crack on land, press SLIDE to sink down into the shop. Tap to jump back out if you want to continue. Underwater, keep tapping to dive down into a shop entrance.

Spend clams and fish: their combined total is your wallet. These are pickups earned while playing. The Igloo Shop offers lower prices than the Black Market.

Extra Life adds a life.
Double Jump gives you a second jump in mid-air.
Snow Gun lets you fire snowballs.
Auto Shot / Auto Shot+ adds automatic fire, then improves its speed.
Piercing Shot upgrades your shots to pass through ordinary enemies and breakable obstacles, and hit bosses harder.

Tap an item to buy it when you have enough currency. Auto Shot and Piercing Shot require the Snow Gun first. Some items are greyed out when already owned or when an earlier upgrade is required. Use the back arrow to return to the adventure.

Other discoveries are deliberately left for you to find.

Glacier Golem, Frost Kraken and Aurora Wyrm share two ways to win in the original Frostfall.

1. Use the stake. Jump repeatedly from the stake beneath Pip. Each grounded jump drives it farther in and breaks down the boss’s floor. Keep the rhythm until the floor collapses.

2. Use your Snow Gun. Tap SHOOT to hit the boss with snowballs and reduce its HP. Piercing Shot deals more damage. You can shoot while working on the stake.

These are separate: the boss HP bar tracks damage from shots; it is not a meter for how far the stake has sunk. Snowballs do not drive the stake into the floor.

Read the warning: when the boss leans back and brightens, prepare for an incoming shard. Jump over the low projectile or shoot it away, then resume your attack.

The screenshot shows the Stage 1 Glacier Golem battle, with Pip above the stake and a snowball travelling toward the boss.

Stage 4 — Frost Shark
Tap to dive down; stop tapping to float up. Match your height with the shark to land shots. When it lines up with Pip and opens its jaws, move vertically out of its path before it charges.

The underwater route pictured here is a good place to practise short taps and controlled rises before the boss. Keep clear of both the seabed rocks and the ice overhead.

Stage 5 — Blizzard Bear
The platforms descend. Jump to a higher platform before your footing drops too low. Fire when your snowballs can reach the bear, while watching for fish-bone projectiles and its rush attack.

For both battles: movement comes first. Keep a safe escape route, then attack from a useful height. A Snow Gun and its upgrades help you attack; Double Jump is especially useful on Stage 5’s platforms.