Frostbite

Frostbite is an action game set in the Arctic Circle where you control Frostbite Bailey, a chubby little eskimo with ambitious construction plans. The screen is divided into water below with four horizontal rows of ice blocks floating in opposite directions, and the shore above where the igloo is being built. Your goal is to help Bailey collect 15 ice blocks by jumping onto white ice floes, which turns them blue and adds a block to the igloo. Once all rows are blue, they reset to white and construction continues. After the igloo is complete with a visible door, Bailey must jump into it to advance. A temperature gauge steadily drops—if it reaches zero before Bailey finds shelter, he freezes. Hazards include killer clams, snow geese, Alaskan king crabs, and a polar bear.

Atari 2600

Designed by Steve Cartwright and published by Activision on August 14, 1983, Frostbite was Cartwright's final Atari 2600 title. The game uses an unusual control scheme: up/down jumps, left/right shuffles Bailey, and the red button reverses ice floe direction—but each reversal costs one block from an incomplete igloo. The game offers four modes: Regular and Advanced, each with single-player or two-player alternating options. A bonus life is awarded every 5,000 points. Players scoring 40,000 points could send a photo to Activision to receive an "Arctic Architect" emblem. An Easter egg magic fish appears near the score after reaching a high point total. A clever blend of Frogger and Q-bert that remains a nostalgic favourite.