Floe — penguins on ice

Floe is a little penguin balancing game on a floating piece of ice. The floe is round on top and covered in small bumps, and the penguins are round too: chubby, wobbly little things that roll as soon as they land on a slope. Drop them one by one and try to keep as many as you can on the ice. Some settle in a hollow, some perch on a neighbour's head, some roll slowly to the edge… and the floe tilts a little more with every penguin.

How to play

Press and hold: a penguin appears above your finger, with a dotted line showing where it will land. Slide to choose your spot, take your time, then let go. Every penguin that stays put plays a note, a little higher each time. As soon as one falls into the sea, the round is over and it swims away: you see how many penguins you kept on the ice, and a tap starts again on an empty floe. Pick the colony (Adélie, emperor, rockhopper, little blue, fluffy chicks or a mix), the sky (dusk, aurora night, morning), the size of the floe and the swell of the sea, send a big wave if you dare, or start over with New.

Why it's satisfying

It is the tension of the hesitation: here, or a little to the left? Then the soft landing, the wobble, the second where you don't know if it will hold, and the small note when it does. The penguins pile up into funny heaps, sideways, upside down, squeezed between two others. When it goes, it goes with a splash, and the next round is one tap away.

About

Floe is part of Alcy, fifty free contemplative micro-games in your browser. For more stacking and balancing: Burger, Balance, Domino.