Santabalt

Santa on the rooftops

The setup is short and seasonal. Santa is in a hurry to get his presents delivered, and his route takes him from roof to roof at high speed. Along the way there are dangerous gaps to clear and deadly obstacles to get past. It is an endless runner, so no finish line is waiting: a run lasts until Santa falls off a roof or runs into something, and the longer he keeps going, the higher your score climbs.

All in the timing

There is a single control, a click or a tap, and the skill lies mostly in when you use it. The game calls itself a test of timing and reflexes, and its tips point the same way. Watch your surroundings closely. Get ready for difficult jumps before you reach them, because Santa keeps getting faster as the run goes on. Learn to judge when a gap calls for a short jump and when it needs a long one, since the right length depends on the gap in front of you.

Easy to start, hard to last

Santabalt describes itself as easy to learn and hard to master. The single input makes the first run simple to begin, while lasting longer is where practice comes in. The game’s final tip is persistence, and it promises that you get better the more you play. The festive theme wraps Canabalt’s endless-runner formula in a jolly Christmas mood, and because the only input is a click or a tap, it works with a mouse as well as on a touch screen.