Ostfriesland Games, a free pixel sports game with five events, is now available for Linux on Steam.

The game is a tribute to classics like Summer Games and Hyper Olympics, built around timing, rhythm and skill with a dose of East Frisian humor. Play solo or with up to four players taking turns on the same device.

In East Frisia, you can play a sport by rolling a ball along the road, leap over ditches with a long pole, and spend quite a lot of time on tea. For us, that seemed like a good starting point for a video game.

Ostfriesland Games is a small collection of five events in the tradition of Summer Games and Hyper Olympics. It is about timing, rhythm and skill. And that moment when you were about to stop, but have just worked out how to do better.

In ditch vaulting (Pultstockspringen), you need to time your leap across the ditch just right. In road bowling (Boßeln), you send your ball down the road and deal with whatever gets in the way. In mudflat sled racing, you keep your sled moving, change lanes and manage your stamina.

In between, there are shrimp to peel and tea to serve. Shrimp peeling calls for quick reactions. In the tea ceremony, you need to serve your guests Kluntje rock sugar, tea and cream in the right order, while keeping track of who is waiting for what.

You can play all five events in a row or choose an individual event straight away. Play solo or compete with two to four players taking turns on the same device. Your best results go into the local leaderboards. The worldwide high scores also let you see how everyone else is doing.

Language note: The game offers English and German text, plus an optional Low German (Plattdeutsch) setting. Some text in the Low German setting remains in German.

Source: Steam