<s>
SkiFree	B-Application
is	O
a	O
single-player	O
skiing	B-Application
computer	O
game	O
created	O
by	O
Chris	B-Application
Pirih	I-Application
and	O
released	O
with	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Entertainment	I-Application
Pack	I-Application
3	I-Application
for	O
Windows	B-Application
3.0	I-Application
in	O
October	O
1991	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SkiFree	B-Application
was	O
well-received	O
upon	O
release	O
,	O
with	O
critics	O
focusing	O
on	O
its	O
simplicity	O
and	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
ported	O
to	O
Macintosh	B-Device
and	O
,	O
years	O
later	O
,	O
to	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Color	I-Device
and	O
iOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pirih	O
also	O
released	O
a	O
free	B-License
,	O
updated	O
32-bit	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
version	O
after	O
rediscovering	O
his	O
original	O
source	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SkiFree	B-Application
remains	O
popular	O
among	O
the	O
gaming	O
community	O
and	O
is	O
often	O
remembered	O
for	O
its	O
Abominable	O
Snowman	O
,	O
which	O
pursues	O
the	O
player	O
after	O
they	O
finish	O
a	O
full	O
run	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2020	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
released	O
Surf	B-Application
,	O
a	O
game	O
included	O
with	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
heavily	O
inspired	O
by	O
SkiFree	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
winter	O
skin	O
where	O
the	O
player	O
skis	O
instead	O
of	O
surfs	B-Application
and	O
must	O
run	O
from	O
the	O
SkiFree	B-Application
Abominable	O
Snowman	O
was	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
in	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SkiFree	B-Application
is	O
a	O
casual	O
single-player	O
sports	O
simulator	O
wherein	O
the	O
player	O
uses	O
the	O
keyboard	O
or	O
the	O
mouse	O
to	O
control	O
a	O
skier	O
across	O
a	O
white	O
background	O
representing	O
snow	O
on	O
a	O
mountainside	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
SkiFree	B-Application
creator	O
Chris	B-Application
Pirih	I-Application
was	O
a	O
student	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Puget	O
Sound	O
,	O
he	O
wrote	O
a	O
text-based	O
game	O
called	O
Ski	O
in	O
Fortran	B-Application
for	O
the	O
VAX/VMS	B-Operating_System
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
inspired	O
by	O
Activision	O
's	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
game	O
Skiing	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
programmer	O
for	O
Microsoft	O
he	O
was	O
writing	O
programming	O
utilities	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
software	O
such	O
as	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Word	I-Application
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Excel	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
had	O
been	O
focused	O
on	O
developing	O
for	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
but	O
in	O
1991	O
decided	O
to	O
learn	O
to	O
write	O
for	O
the	O
newly	O
released	O
Windows	B-Application
3.0	I-Application
,	O
and	O
so	O
created	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
his	O
skiing	B-Application
game	O
in	O
the	O
programming	B-Language
language	I-Language
C	I-Language
,	O
replacing	O
the	O
text-based	O
environment	O
with	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
called	O
the	O
game	O
WinSki	O
,	O
and	O
added	O
exploitable	O
,	O
fanciful	O
elements	O
to	O
demonstrate	O
the	O
new	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
's	O
functionality	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
staining	O
the	O
snow	O
yellow	O
after	O
crashing	O
into	O
numerous	O
dogs	O
and	O
certain	O
tree	O
stumps	O
transforming	O
into	O
mushrooms	O
when	O
skied	O
on	O
backwards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
he	O
developed	O
it	O
on	O
his	O
home	O
computer	O
for	O
his	O
own	O
education	O
and	O
entertainment	O
,	O
WinSki	O
attracted	O
the	O
attention	O
of	O
a	O
program	O
manager	O
for	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Entertainment	I-Application
Pack	I-Application
(	O
MEP	O
)	O
when	O
he	O
noticed	O
Pirih	O
playing	O
it	O
at	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
1991	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
shipped	O
MEPs	O
2	O
and	O
3	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
3.0	I-Application
,	O
the	O
latter	O
pack	O
containing	O
Pirih	O
's	O
game	O
renamed	O
and	O
marketed	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
as	O
SkiFree	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
its	O
debut	O
,	O
SkiFree	B-Application
has	O
seen	O
several	O
ports	O
and	O
rereleases	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SkiFree	B-Application
was	O
featured	O
in	O
the	O
Best	B-Application
of	I-Application
Microsoft	I-Application
Entertainment	I-Application
Pack	I-Application
in	O
1994	O
and	O
was	O
available	O
as	O
a	O
port	O
for	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
one	O
of	O
seven	O
games	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
2000	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Color	I-Device
title	O
Best	B-Application
of	I-Application
Microsoft	I-Application
Entertainment	I-Application
Pack	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
4	O
,	O
2005	O
,	O
Pirih	O
announced	O
the	O
creation	O
and	O
release	O
of	O
a	O
32-bit	O
version	O
of	O
SkiFree	B-Application
on	O
his	O
website	O
for	O
free	B-License
,	O
after	O
rediscovering	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
source	O
code	O
that	O
year	O
,	O
which	O
he	O
had	O
lost	O
when	O
he	O
was	O
developing	O
a	O
second	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
in	O
1993	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
its	O
abandonment	O
for	O
other	O
projects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2013	O
,	O
mobile	O
games	O
developer	O
GearSprout	O
developed	O
and	O
released	O
iOS	B-Application
ports	O
of	O
SkiFree	B-Application
and	O
Rodent	B-Application
's	I-Application
Revenge	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
had	O
already	O
released	O
SkeeFree	O
,	O
a	O
skiing	B-Application
game	O
with	O
identical	O
assets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
SkiFree	B-Application
trademark	O
was	O
reserved	O
by	O
an	O
unspecified	O
entity	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
SkeeFree	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SkiFree	B-Application
trademark	O
later	O
expired	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
GearSprout	O
game	O
was	O
updated	O
as	O
SkiFree	B-Application
when	O
it	O
was	O
released	O
alongside	O
Rodent	B-Application
's	I-Application
Revenge	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
SkiFree	B-Application
was	O
included	O
in	O
The	O
Windows	O
3.x	O
Showcase	O
and	O
uploaded	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
Archive	O
in	O
February	O
2016	O
,	O
becoming	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
item	O
on	O
the	O
website	O
within	O
a	O
week	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2020	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
released	O
Surf	B-Application
,	O
a	O
surfing-themed	O
game	O
inspired	O
by	O
SkiFree	B-Application
into	O
its	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
browser	O
,	O
accessible	O
by	O
typing	O
the	O
special	O
URL	O
edge://surf	O
on	O
the	O
address	O
bar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
available	O
when	O
the	O
browser	O
is	O
disconnected	O
from	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
similar	O
vein	O
to	O
the	O
Dinosaur	B-Application
Game	I-Application
on	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
2021	O
update	O
changed	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
depict	O
a	O
skier	O
who	O
is	O
chased	O
by	O
the	O
SkiFree	B-Application
Abominable	O
Snowman	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
usual	O
kraken	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
release	O
,	O
SkiFree	B-Application
attained	O
a	O
cult	O
status	O
in	O
the	O
PC	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
ranking	O
Klotski	O
as	O
the	O
best	O
of	O
the	O
packs	O
and	O
only	O
noting	O
SkiFree	B-Application
as	O
a	O
"	O
simple	O
skiing	B-Application
simulation	O
"	O
,	O
he	O
recommended	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
sixteen	O
games	O
and	O
praised	O
each	O
of	O
them	O
for	O
taking	O
advantage	O
of	O
effects	O
that	O
"	O
show	O
off	O
the	O
visual	O
beauty	O
that	O
Windows	O
can	O
bring	O
to	O
a	O
computer.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
another	O
1992	O
review	O
,	O
Barry	O
Simon	O
of	O
PC	O
Magazine	O
described	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
graphics	O
as	O
humorous	O
and	O
"	O
not	O
very	O
extensive	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
while	O
he	O
chose	O
Pipe	B-Device
Dream	I-Device
of	O
Entertainment	B-Application
Pack	I-Application
2	O
as	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
purchase	O
as	O
a	O
standalone	O
title	O
,	O
at	O
a	O
bargain	O
of	O
per	O
title	O
,	O
he	O
recommended	O
both	O
of	O
the	O
packs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SkiFree	B-Application
continues	O
to	O
receive	O
critical	O
acclaim	O
in	O
retrospective	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
Power	O
User	O
described	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
killer	O
app	O
"	O
,	O
noting	O
that	O
SkiFree	B-Application
was	O
not	O
particularly	O
groundbreaking	O
,	O
but	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
MEP	O
3	O
titles	O
,	O
it	O
"	O
stood	O
apart	O
from	O
Minesweeper	B-Application
and	O
the	O
various	O
card	O
and	O
board-game	O
translations	O
that	O
dominated	O
the	O
software	O
bundles.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Brittany	O
Vincent	O
of	O
PC	O
Gamer	O
characterized	O
it	O
as	O
an	O
endless	B-Application
runner	I-Application
,	O
rationalizing	O
that	O
SkiFree	B-Application
had	O
no	O
ending	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
course	O
would	O
loop	O
to	O
the	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
map	O
when	O
players	O
reached	O
the	O
bottom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Games	O
journalist	O
Alfie	O
Bown	O
described	O
the	O
way	O
other	O
popular	O
Windows	O
games	O
required	O
concentration	O
or	O
mental	O
energy	O
,	O
playing	O
into	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
's	O
reputation	O
for	O
usefulness	O
and	O
productivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
contrasted	O
it	O
with	O
the	O
"	O
totally	O
anachronistic	O
"	O
SkiFree	B-Application
,	O
a	O
more	O
casual	O
"	O
subversive	O
alternative.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Retrospective	O
reviews	O
for	O
SkiFree	B-Application
frequently	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
obscure	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
Abominable	O
Snow	O
Monster	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Benj	O
Edwards	O
of	O
PC	O
Magazine	O
rated	O
SkiFree	B-Application
as	O
the	O
best	O
of	O
MEP	O
3	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
humorous	O
inclusion	O
of	O
the	O
Abominable	O
Snow	O
Monster	O
.	O
</s>
