Are you dying to get out on the slopes? You’re not alone. It’s every single one of us right now, in October, even though A-Basin is open, but maybe by now its December or later, and you’re looking forward to getting out there at spring break or during your time off. It doesn’t matter where you are, or where you will be shredding- you’re dreaming of it already, and sitting in your office isn’t helping. Well fret no more- here are some great games designed to help you get the most of your pre-slopes fixation.

Ski Stunt Simulator– Despite leaving something to be desired in the animation sphere, this game is surprisingly realistic. You control a ski jumper by your mouse position, providing initial parameters for your jump- terrain, speed, etc. It was created by two masters of science, so you know it has to be right on! The game works in both Safari and Firefox browsers.

Snowboarding! – Don’t be fooled! This game might be on a kids website but it is one of the most sophisticated games on this page! Steer the snowboarder with the arrow keys to make gates and avoid obstacles. Beautiful illustration and animation. Firefox and Safari both test out.

Downhill Challenge -Choose your character and difficulty, and get ready to ride by steering with your mouse to avoid obstacles and hit bumps for great jumps. This game has multiple levels, so beware of getting sucked in! Works in Safari, not so much in Firefox.

Ski Game – Crude animation with a high entertainment value. Use your arrow keys and space-bar to control the skier through an endless field of obstacles. Be sure to crash into something- the animation is funny. Checks out in both Firefox and Safari.

Chevron Cars Snowboarding – Hilarious dog snowboards by mouse control. Extra entertainment value: Try hitting every obstacle at least once. Firefox and Safari compatible.

Aggressive Alpine Skiing – Colorful graphics and custom surfer music are the hallmarks of this fast-paced profile-view game. Collect stars and avoid obstacles. Are you able to get past the man in the gondola? Let us know! We haven’t been able to. Firefox and Safari safe.

CR Snowboarding – Choose your character and terrain and you’re off! Take jumps and try tricks for extra points. Game is clearly a blanket attraction for the website where it is hosted, but if you enjoy the game then it should not be too difficult to look past. Firefox and Safari tested.

Free Skiing Game – A java game using the arrow keys with no apparent penalty for running into anything or missing gates. Game has little point, but it can be entertaining to see if you can make all the arrows. Firefox and Safari ready.

Here is a list of games I could not test, due to lack of shockwave plugin development for Intel-based Mac’s*:

• Miniclip Ski Run
• Snowboarder XS
• Snowboarding Madness
• Snowboard Mt. Fuji
• Snow Grind Snowboarding

*You might be wondering why I have not tested any of these games in Internet Explorer. Truth be told, 70% of the market share uses Internet Explorer to browse websites, so if these applications don’t work in Explorer, they don’t exist, period. I only use Internet Explorer to test my designs for rendering. Otherwise, I prefer to browse happy. Visit Browsehappy.com for more information.