Fresh Ice Intermission bonus rounds explained
How Lost & Found, Snow Dump and Rival Race work in Fresh Ice, how they pay out in Tips, and how to score well in each.
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Real hockey games stop between periods so the ice can be resurfaced, and Fresh Ice borrows the name for its bonus rounds. After every tenth level there is an Intermission: a short, timed round with a different goal from a normal level. It pays out in Tips, there is nothing to lose, and you can always skip it.
When Intermissions happen
The first time you beat level 10, 20, 30 and so on, the results card shows a gold Intermission button with the name of the round. Tap it to play, or tap Next level to carry on as normal. The intro card for the round also has a skip button that takes you straight to the next level.
The three rounds take turns. Level 10 brings Lost & Found, level 20 brings Snow Dump, level 30 brings Rival Race, and the cycle repeats from level 40. Each round is played on the rink you just finished.
A few things work differently from normal levels. There is no Glass Streak, no power-ups and no puck-drop clock. Instead the scoreboard shows the time left, and that timer starts with your first swipe.
Lost & Found
30 seconds. Fans have dropped things all over the ice, and your job is to scoop them up before the next period. The ice is already clean, so this round is purely about driving over items. New items keep appearing as you collect them, up to nine on the ice at once.
Each item is worth a different amount:
- Puck: 3 Tips
- Mitten: 6 Tips
- False teeth: 12 Tips
- Somebody's phone: 15 Tips
- Golden puck: 30 Tips
The phones and the golden puck do not sit still. They slide around the rink and bounce off the boards. The golden puck drops once, halfway through the round, and only stays for a few seconds, so when the game announces it, drop whatever you are doing and chase it.
Tips for Lost & Found:
- Use taps more than swipes. You are not cleaning rows, you are hopping between targets, and tapping drives straight to a spot at any angle.
- Collect 14 or more items and the results card calls you a Lost & Found champ.
Snow Dump
40 seconds. The snow you shave has to go somewhere. As you shave the ice, the tank fills. When it is full, the machine stops cleaning until you empty it. To dump, drive back to the snow pit by the gate, which is where the machine starts the round. The tank needs to be at least a tenth full before you can dump.
Each load pays up to 40 Tips depending on how full the tank was, and a completely full load pays 20 more on top. That bonus changes the strategy completely. A full load is worth 60 Tips, while two half loads are worth only about 40 between them.
Tips for Snow Dump:
- Aim for full loads, but time them. The ideal run fills the tank just as you arrive back at the pit.
- Clean away from the pit first, then work your way back toward it so the last stretch of filling happens on the way home.
- Do not drive around with a full tank. Every second spent full and far from the pit earns nothing.
- Near the end of the round, dump whatever you have. A partial load still pays, and Tips left in the tank are lost.
- Four or more loads earns the title Snow boss.
Rival Race
40 seconds. The rink across town has sent its machine, and you both clean the same sheet. Whoever resurfaces more of the ice wins. The scoreboard shows your percentage and the rival's side by side.
The payout is generous either way. Win and you get 100 Tips, plus one Tip for every percent of the rink you cleaned. Lose and you still get 40 Tips plus one per percent.
The rival heads for the nearest dirty ice in front of it and swerves round obstacles. It is slower than you, so your edge is planning.
Tips for Rival Race:
- Drive long straight passes. The rival wanders from patch to patch, while a serpentine of U-turns keeps you cleaning at full speed.
- Take the half of the rink the rival is not in. Racing it for the same patch wastes time for both of you.
- Avoid collisions. Bumping into the rival stops you both for a moment, and you have more to lose from stopping because you are the faster machine.
Are Intermissions worth playing?
Usually, yes. A round takes under a minute, it can only add Tips, and it is a nice change of pace. If you would rather keep your momentum, skipping costs you nothing but those Tips.
For more on the driving skills that win these rounds, see the driving technique guide. Your next Intermission is never more than ten levels away, so jump back in and see whether you can beat the rival.