Santa Games

Why We Picked Santa Games

Santa Games is a coin-op loop in a browser tab, and it has not been softened. It is the original loop, and nothing was added to modernise it, because nothing needed to be. It has aged the way a good rule ages, which is barely. The shelf keeps it for the same reason arcades did: it is hard to master and quick to restart. By the numbers: 361 of 500 on the arcade shelf, 3.6 out of 5 from 21 ratings, and 1,038 plays.

How to Play

The page documents very little, so these are the things worth knowing before you spend time on it:

• Resize the window before starting, since some embeds redraw the canvas and reset the round.
• Clear the wave, then clear the next one, and treat the pattern as the tutorial.
• Play the first life as a scouting run; the pattern repeats and rewards a second look.

Editor’s Note

A hardware keyboard handles the diagonals better than a thumb does, so a desktop is the honest recommendation. Part of the old bargain remains simple: the design will not meet the player halfway.

Written by the UGFJD editorial team for this page. The publisher’s own description follows below, unedited.