Inside Social Games

If there is one thing Canadians know, it’s winter sports. That’s certainly to be expected considering how long the season tends to be up there, and what’s one sport to do in winter? Oh yeah, it’s time to ski, and that is exactly what this new app for Facebook is all about (well, the freestyle kind anyway).

CatchAir is a crisp and clean looking Facebook game built in Flash that lets players challenge friends and practice various skiing tricks that one might see at an Olympic or National freestyle competitions. Despite how the tricks might sound (“Paramedics Delight” or “Double-Jalapeno Licorice Twist”), they are actually fairly simple to execute.

When players start the game, they can immediately enter practice mode and select a trick to attempt. Doing so shows some live action video of the actual Canadian Freestyle Ski team performing the impressive feats, but after the player gives the game the ok, they press forward to the slopes. Presented in a 2D field, the player skis down the hill to the ramp and completes the trick by hitting falling snowflakes located at the right of the screen in a Guitar Hero-like fashion using the left, right, and up arrow keys. Depending on the accuracy, the player’s score is increased (or they will just fall flat on their face).

Of course, there is more than just scores to achieve with CatchAir. For every challenge made between anyone in the game (up until April 1, 2009), the Canada Post will donate $0.25 to supporting the Canadian Olympic/National Freestyle Team. “Any money that is raised through playing the game will be added to the Canada Post’s ongoing financial commitment to the National Freestyle Team as title sponsor,” says David Brodie, Senior Account Director of the CatchAir team.

The timing is perfect too, as the National Freestyle Championships are coming up later this month from March 28-29 at Cypress Mountain. To further stimulate support for the team, the Canada Post is also sponsoring a contest for all the game users. Everyone that signs up as a fan at the CatchAir Fan Page is automatically entered to win a new laptop signed by the entire Freestyle Ski Team (however, the contest deadline is April 1st – More information is available here).

It is certainly nice to see support for national teams, and it’s even nicer to have it come from a game that is not too shabby. Sure, it can get a little dull once you’ve mastered the controls, but it’s still pretty fun. More than that, it’s different from most Facebook games. Nevertheless, if you’re a Canadian, a winter games person, or you just like skiing, CatchAir is certainly something to check out. Not to mention some of those moves are rather impressive…