Video game advent calendar features Chubby the Snowman, free gifts

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The video game developers behind cute Wii game Chick Chick Boom have revisited one of their first projects and produced a web-based advent calendar with a new level each day until December 25, Christmas Day itself.

Mission in Snowdriftland was the result of a 2006 co-operative effort between Tons of Bits' parent company and Nintendo. Chubby the Snowman was tasked with making his way across 24 stages to retrieve stolen game files from the evil penguin El Pix.

Players of the first Mission in Snowdriftland were rewarded for their efforts with custom backgrounds, ringtones, and icons, and Mission in Snowdriftland: Indie Games Edition is set to serve up more of the same.

Chubby returns on December 1, 2010, except this time around toting various bits and bobs from Chick Chick Boom and a clutch of other independently made games, almost all of which appear on the Wii's WiiWare channel if not elsewhere.

Games highlighted include And Yet It Moves (available for Wii, Windows, Mac, Linux), the Bit.Trip series (Wii, iOS, PC, Mac), Max and the Magic Marker (Wii, Windows, Mac, Windows Mobile), NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits (Wii, Windows, Mac), Spirits (iPad), Swords & Soldiers (Wii, Mac, PC, PlayStation 3), and Zombie Panic in Wonderland (Wii).

Mission in Snowdriftland: Indie Games Edition opens on December 1, 2010 at mission-in-snowdriftland.com.