Sky Islands

The big adventures

Set pieces with their own rivals, rules and rewards, a house to make your own and a game hidden in every quest. Take them in any order.

Hearthstone Isle

A house of your own

Take the ferry from Home Isle, the Citadel or Harbour Town to Hearthstone Isle and talk to Bodil the architect (E). Your house appears on her design pad while you work on it, so you see every change straight away. Walk into her two show houses for ideas.

Quick to start. Eleven templates (Cosy Cottage, Log Cabin, Stone Manor, Wizard's Tower, Seaside Villa, Castle Keep, Tea House, Barn House, Snow Chalet, Mushroom House, Crystal Palace), a Surprise me! button and Undo.
Change anything. Four sizes, one or two floors with stairs inside, eight roof shapes, about fifty textures for the walls, roof, beams, door, wallpaper and floor, four doors and four kinds of window, and extras: chimney, shutters, timber beams, flower boxes, a picket fence, a garden, lanterns, a porch, a flag, a balcony and a corner tower.
Furnish it. Eleven ready-made rooms in one click, or 42 pieces of furniture placed on a floor plan (bed, fireplace, piano, aquarium, throne, telescope, a cat in a basket...). Press Look inside to see it like a dollhouse.
Offers. The basics are free and your first house costs nothing. Fancier textures, furniture and extras have a price, there are six bundles at 30% off and one thing is 40% off every day. What you buy is yours forever.
Three places to live. On the Citadel, in Harbour Town or on a little private islet over a rope bridge from Hearthstone Isle (the only place big enough for a Grand house). You have one house; once it stands it can move to another plot after 30 real days, but you can redesign it any time.
Live in it. Only you can see it. Sleep in your bed to heal and skip the night (you wake up at your front door if you fall), open your mailbox to redesign, and find it on the map.

A cottage with a porch, a garden and a picket fence on the private islet

Every quest

A game in every quest

Every quest ends in its own little game (and none of them is a sport). Forge a nail at Brynjar's anvil, dig up the magpie's hoard with hot and cold clues, sneak into the Bandit Camp past the bandits' eyes, light the tomb lanterns in the ruins, trace the portal runes, turn the mirrors to light the lighthouse, catch Farmer Olof's falling apples, open the King's crest vault with a memory game, find constellations on Frost Cap, turn the lava pipes on Ember Peak, catch falling stars at Astrid's telescope, solve Eric's knight puzzles, bounce through five rings over Bounce Isle and hop up the cloud steps to the Sky Bell on Portal Peak.

Each one pays with a weapon: twin daggers, a chakram, a gem blade, a cutlass, a flame sword, a crystal spear, a scimitar, a halberd, the King's lava hammer, a crystal blade, a frost blade, an ember axe, a storm bow and a mighty morning star for the spider queen.

Old Copper Mine

Something in the deep

Foreman Fritjof has lost men underground, and nobody who rode the cart down lately came back the same. Climb into the wooden cart on the rails (E) and it rolls through the timber gate straight into the rock. Bring a good weapon, a potion or two, and your nerve. What's down there is for you to find out.

The mine entrance with the cart on the rails

Home Isle

Duels: fight other players

The Duel Gate on the Home Isle is a real portal: walk into the glowing surface and it connects you to whoever else is playing. Pick 1v1, 2v2 or 3v3, pick an arena (or let the gate choose), and press Find. You can also challenge a player by name; they get the challenge in their game and can accept from their own gate. Everyone is carried to the arena for a 3-2-1 countdown.

Real time. Duels run over a live connection: other players move fifty times a second, and every hit, freeze, burn and gadget lands the instant it happens.
Kits. Everyone in a duel fights with the same kit, so it's fair. The challenger picks it; matchmaking picks one at random. Glider (wooden sword, 5 apples and wings), Knight, Ninja (katana, warp pearls, smoke bombs), Frost Mage, Pyro, Archer, Tank and Acrobat (rapier, grappling hook, bounce pads). Food and potions heal your duel health, and your own bag comes back untouched afterwards.
Your health comes back. Duels use a separate bar. When you leave, your real health is exactly what it was when you walked in. Dying in the arena costs nothing and your bag is untouched.
Arenas. The Sky Ring, the Frozen Crater and the Ember Pit are the classic rings. Twin Isles is two islands with no bridge (Archer kit and jump pads). Brawl Yard is a tight pit for a close fight. You can also build My Map and challenge a friend: boxes, trampolines, jump pads and teleporters. Falling off the new maps puts you back on the floor, so the fight can always finish.
Teams. In 2v2 and 3v3 your teammates show blue and enemies red on the team bars. If you're knocked out you watch from above until the round is decided.
150 coins to win. Knock the other side to zero (or off the arena) and every winner gets the coins. Then you're all back at the gate for a rematch.

The three duel arenas: Sky Ring, Frozen Crater and Ember Pit

Frost Cap

The ski run and Hugo

A 45° run drops 200 m down the far side of Frost Cap. Carve with A/D, tuck with W, brake with S, launch off the two red-lipped kickers, hit the glowing boost pads and take the gaps in the ice walls. The run is a smooth banked ribbon, steeper on the inside of each bend, so pick your line. The first time you step onto the snow a ski school coach ticks off each skill as you do it (and pays you for finishing).

Race Hugo at the start gate. Beat him and he rides the chair lift up with you and hands over his ski pole: two quick jabs, then a lightning dash on the third strike.
The chair lift takes you back up for 10 coins — you actually sit in it now, feet on the footrest, bar across your lap.

Misty Marsh

Out-fish Balthazar

Two lakes in a row and an old angler who has never lost. Ninety seconds on the clock: A to cast, A again at the top of the wave for the best fish. Minnows are worth 1, Perch 2, Pike 4, Golden Carp 8, the Marsh Legend 15. Land a good one and the timer pauses for a little cutscene. Beat his score and he hands you his fishing rod — a weapon that hooks enemies in from afar and swings for 20.

Sun Dunes

Beware of Jonathan

A giant crab owns the beach. He chases anyone who lands, pinches for 15 and slows you for two seconds, and nothing can kill him. The only way past is to stand your ground and pay him 180 coins (E) — he faints on the spot and you carry him off flat out to the side like a sword. He hits for 22 and his pinch slows whatever he hits. He stays on the sand, too — no more climbing the parasols.

Citadel Isle

The King and the tower

King Aldric the Unyielding waits in the throne room at the top of the tower's chambers. Reach level 3 to pass the gates and the Knights' hall, level 6 and a beaten Prince to reach the Magician, level 10 and a beaten Magician to reach the King. Each floor's glowing pad tells you exactly what it needs. Then look up: a stair winds round every tier of the tower now, through stairwells in each balcony, all the way to the summit 145 m above the plaza. Three coin bags, a golden flag and the Top of the World achievement wait at the top.

Whispering Woods

Tame a wolf

Wild wolves keep their distance — unless you are carrying a bone (skeletons at the Old Kingdom Ruins drop them). Then one smells it, creeps up to you and waits. Feed it three bones (E) and it fights beside you for good; E again tells it to stay or follow. If it goes down it gets back on its feet after a while.

Everything else you can do

🪽

Earn your wings

Find the five Elytra Shards hidden on the far islands to unlock the wings, then jump off anything: F to wear them, dive to speed up, climb to slow down, and Hilda's rockets shoot you forward.

⚔️

Every sword fights its own way

The katana dashes straight through enemies, the rapier lunges, the flame sword sets them burning, the frost blade freezes, the storm blade calls chain lightning, the twin daggers strike five times and backflip away, the claymore spins twice and the chakram flies out and comes back. Brynjar forges three of his own: Hearthsteel (17), the Citadel Broadsword (21) and Anvil Edge (25). Ragnar sells axes, spears, a hammer and a hunting bow, and Volund sells the flame sword. The rare ones are still earned: every three levels up to level 30, in every quest's game and from achievements.

🎒

A hotbar and a bag

Four slots at the bottom of the screen: 1–4 or the mouse wheel pick what you hold, and a click uses it — swing the sword, eat the apple, drink the potion, throw the pearl. The bag itself has thirty slots. Point at anything in the bag and press a number to put it on the hotbar.

🧿

Gadgets

Tinker Odd in Harbour Town sells a Warp Pearl you throw and teleport to, a Grappling Hook that pulls you 25 m up, Wind Charges, Frost Orbs, Fire Bombs, Smoke Bombs, a Healing Splash and Bounce Pads. They work in duels too.

💬

Islanders who talk back

Press T and type anything. Every islander answers in their own voice — a gruff foreman, a salesy shopkeeper, a dreamy astronomer, a cocky ski champion. They know the world, your coins and level, do your sums, remember what you asked and notice when you repeat yourself.

🧭

Quests

Over fifty named villagers with their own stories, and every quest has its own little game — a forge, a dig, a stealth mission, lights-out, runes, mirrors, apples, crests, stars, lava pipes, a knight puzzle, rings and cloud steps. Rewards are coins, clothes and weapons; islanders can also be bribed (B) for a hint about hidden collectibles.

🍲

Cooking

Stand at a campfire and press C. Roast apples, mushroom stew, berry pie, bone broth, frost salad — meals heal and give speed, endurance or damage buffs. Secret recipes are taught by the things you defeat.

🧪

Potions

Apples heal on the spot; healing potions pour it in over a few seconds (the Health Potion 60 over 3 s, the Great Potion to full over 4 s). Three potions do more: the orange Strength Potion makes your hits 20% harder for 45 seconds, the blue Swiftness Potion makes you run 40% faster and the green Leaping Potion lets you jump twice as high — Swiftness and Leaping last 90 seconds, drink them at any health, and little lights in the potion's colour circle you while they work. Ylva's Apothecary sells all three.

🛍️

Shops & trade

Brynjar's Forge, Ragnar's Armory, Hilda's Fireworks, Tova's Tailor, Ylva's Apothecary, Gunnhild's Pantry, Volund's Ember Forge and Isbjorn's Ice House. Sell back for half. The wandering traders Zephyr and Nimbus barter rare stones for special gear.

💎

Rare materials

Wood Gems in forests, Cloud Essence on windy peaks, Star Shards at the shrine and lighthouse, Ember Stones near bandits and ruins, Sky Pearls in the harbour. Ferry captains give the best tips on where.

🏆

Achievements & levels

Coins and cosmetics for notable deeds — bosses, ferries, benches, the tower's summit. XP from fights, discoveries and achievements; a reward weapon every three levels, all the way to the Storm Blade at level 30 (L for the track).

⛵

Ferry timetables

Every boat sails once every ten minutes and the fares are about half what they were. You can always see when the next one leaves: a board floats over every boat (boarding now or a countdown), the captain says it under their name, and the full map (M) lists every dock's next departure. Every Elytra Shard is on an island with a dock.

🏝️

51 islands

Bridges, trampolines, portals, updrafts and fifteen ferry routes connect them. The corner map is always there (N zooms) and M opens the big map, with your house on it — and the mine's tunnels never show.

🌗

Day and night

The sun sets, lanterns light up, fireflies come out in the marsh and the eagles hunt. Underground it's always night.

🎨

Make it yours

Name your hero, pick hair, tunic, hat and cape. Unlock more from shops, quests and the traders' cloud clothes.

🎓

Learn as you go

Hilda's tutorial on Home Isle teaches moving, jumping, fighting, the bag, shopping, cooking and quests — and pays you for finishing. The ski school does the same on the snow.

🔑

Cheat codes

Type a secret word in a villager's chat box (T). We're not telling you which ones.

What's new

The Citadel dungeon — under Citadel Isle, in the normal world. The stone door is on the far side of the island (a dark mark on the map), away from the sky traders. The game keeper can send a character to a grand court hall first, then decide. One main cell; a warden walks them to work and back (no teleport). First time on a job they get instructions. After the work the keeper chooses: let them out, sit in the cell for a whole game day, or they must stay away from the game.
Difficulty follows your level — 1–10 Easy, 11–20 Medium, 21–30 Hard. Duels are always Medium, so every fight is fair.
My Map, in colour — the map maker is a coloured grid and the real 3D arena updates as you click. Paint the floor Stone, Sky, Ember, Moss or Sand, then press Look at the map.
Secret codes once — each secret chat code works once per character.
A house of your own — Bodil the architect on the new Hearthstone Isle designs it with you: templates, sizes, two floors, roofs, textures, extras, rooms and furniture, offers and bundles. Put it on the Citadel, in Harbour Town or on your own islet; it can move after 30 days. Sleep in your bed, redesign at your mailbox.
A game in every quest — fourteen new quest games (forge, dig, sneak, lanterns, runes, mirrors, apples, crest vault, constellations, lava pipes, falling stars, knight puzzles, trampoline rings, cloud steps), each with a weapon to win.
Real-time duels with kits — duels run over a live connection (smooth players, instant hits and effects) and everyone fights with the same kit: Glider, Knight, Ninja, Frost Mage, Pyro, Archer, Tank or Acrobat.
Every sword fights its own way, and ten new weapons — rapier, katana, cutlass, twin daggers, claymore, scimitar, storm blade, halberd, chakram and morning star; the level track now goes to 30.
Gadgets — Tinker Odd's shop in Harbour Town: warp pearl, grappling hook, wind charge, frost orb, fire bomb, smoke bomb, healing splash and bounce pad.
A hotbar and a bag — four slots on 1–4, thirty slots in the bag; P draws your weapon, M opens the big map and N zooms the corner map. Hold click with a bow to draw and aim, let go to shoot (arrows drop, so aim a little high).
Potions with powers — Strength (hit 20% harder for 45 seconds), Swiftness (run 40% faster) and Leaping (jump twice as high), the last two for 90 seconds. All three at Ylva's Apothecary; Gunnhild on Home Isle sells Swiftness and Leaping, Brynjar and Volund sell Strength, Isbjorn sells Swiftness. Coloured lights circle you while they work.
See the next ferry — a departure board floats over every boat, the captain shows the time under their name, and the full map lists when each dock's boat sails next.
A permanent address — Sky Islands now lives at skyislands.io and the link will never change again. Everyone keeps their character: the first time, choose Log in with name + PIN and it comes straight back.
Duels — the Duel Gate on the Home Isle: 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3, arenas including Twin Isles, Brawl Yard and a map you build yourself, challenges by name, your real health restored when you leave, and 150 coins for every winner.
Ski run rebuilt — no more sinking through the snow: the run is a smooth ribbon all the way round the bends, the two kickers have a proper lip to launch off, and the game keeps you on top of the snow at any frame rate.
Ferry timetables — each boat sails once every ten minutes; fares roughly halved; a countdown shows the next departure.
The King — the way to the throne room now opens at level 10 once the Magician is beaten (it used to demand level 15); every pad names the floor it leads to and what it needs.
Elytra Shards — all five are on islands you can reach by ferry.
Leaderboards — the fastest Frost Cap runs and the best Balthazar scores, ranked across every character: shown in the game after each race or contest, and right here on the website.
Potions — the Great Potion and the Health Potion now heal quickly over 3–4 seconds instead of instantly; apples are still instant.
Wolves — a wild wolf comes to you when you carry a bone, so taming is actually possible. Stand your ground and feed it three.
Jonathan — stays on the sand; no more riding on parasols and rocks.
Old Copper Mine — a safety net puts you back on the floor if anything ever pushes you through it down there.
Chair lift — you and Hugo really sit in the chair now, and the cable runs beside the masts instead of through them.
Ski school — replaces the old text box that froze you mid-slope: a coach ticks off push-off, carving, tucking, braking, hopping, a boost pad and reaching the bottom while you ski, and pays 60 coins.
The tower can be climbed — stairs round every tier to the summit, with the 'Top of the World' achievement.
Islanders answer what you actually ask — a new chat brain with a voice per islander, a world encyclopedia, sums, favourites, your coins and level, and memory of the conversation.
The deep mine — Foreman Fritjof's new quest 'Something in the Deep' takes you down the Old Copper Mine in a cart. We won't say more. Nothing of it shows from outside, and it never shows on the map.
Ember Peak — the volcano sits on the ground instead of hovering above it.
Fishing — nine fish plus the rare Spiny Dogfish, a golden rod, a proper fight on the line and dramatic music.

Free to play in your browserSky Islands

A sky full of places to go