Polar

In polar stages the floor is ice and the ball slides a very long way. That makes it easy to carry the ball far and hard to stop it. There are 20 polar stages: one in Level 1, two in each Level after that and three in Level 10.

Ice floor

Ice has about one sixth the friction of normal ground. A ball rolling or sliding along it loses speed very slowly. As a result:

• Even a gentle shot carries the ball to the far end of the play area.
• Slowing the ball down to leave it somewhere is hard; it overshoots.
• Ice keeps the ball from losing speed before it reaches a ramp, so ramps placed further away work better here.

Igloos

Igloos are solid domes sitting on the floor. A ball that hits one bounces according to the dome's slope or rolls up over it. The door in the middle is just decoration; the ball can't go through. You can't draw within 5 centimetres of an igloo. The side of the dome works as a natural ramp that lifts a fast ball.

Ice holes

Pits appear as water-filled ice holes in the polar theme. The rule is the same as Pits: a ball that falls in is lost, but the stage doesn't restart. Because the ball rarely stops on ice, gently sliding into an ice hole is the most common loss here. Think about whether the ball still has enough speed to clear the hole as it approaches.

Snowstorms

A snowstorm is a rectangular area that pushes the ball sideways while it's inside. You'll see snow streaks and an arrow showing its direction. Storms blow left or right; in the game their strength ranges from 16 to 22 metres per second squared, one and a half to two times Earth's gravity. Unlike Wind, they only push horizontally and you don't draw them. You can draw inside a storm.

• Send the ball through a storm fast and it's barely affected.
• Put the top of the ball's arc inside the storm, where it's slowest, and it gets pushed a lot.
• Passing under a storm blowing against you, close to the floor, is often the cheapest route.

More in this section

• SpaceSix planets, six different gravities. Meteors and black holes.
• DesertDunes slow the ball, cacti pop it. The floor isn't flat any more.
• ForestTrees block the way, mushrooms bounce, mud swallows.