GlimmerthawGlimmerthaw
Melt the frost, free critters.
A calm colour puzzle for iPhone and Android. Tap a Glimmer, a little ember sprite, and it hops onto a perch to melt frost tiles of its colour from the bottom of a frozen mural, one tile per spark.
Try a tiny mural
Little Lantern, with a Snow Hare asleep inside
How it plays
Tap a Glimmer
Only the Glimmer at the front of each lane can go. Its number is how many sparks it holds.
It hops onto a perch
There are five perches. A Glimmer waits there until tiles of its colour reach the bottom row.
It melts its colour
Each spark melts one matching tile on the bottom row. The tiles above slide down, so every tap changes what comes next.
Only five perches, so plan ahead and never fill them with Glimmers that can't fire. Three of one colour on the perches huddle into one.
Every mural hides a picture
Seventy murals, and every one ends in a papercraft painting, from a snowflake to a kingfisher. Under the frost of this one sits Hollowmere Cottage, with two critters asleep in the ice.
- Frost tiles in six colours, each with its own symbol.
- Melt the bottom row and the tiles above slide down.
- Clear the last tile and the mural thaws into a painting.
- The critters frozen inside wake up.
Wake a critter, get a helping trick
Critters doze inside the murals. Melt down to one and it wakes with a trick that helps you finish. Tap one here to wake it.
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Snow Hare
Adds a perch for the rest of the level.
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Ember Fox
Gives a Fetch token: pull one Glimmer from deep in a lane.
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Bear Cub
Thaws the whole bottom row, whatever the colours.
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Owl
Swaps the front two Glimmers of the longest lane.
Every rescue goes into your Critter Album, with Snug, Nightcap, Scarf and rare Golden looks to collect.
Fair by design
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Nothing is hidden
Every Glimmer in every lane is on screen, so you can plan the whole mural before your first tap.
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Undo is free
Undo as often as you like and retry any level. There are no lives to run out of and no timers.
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Every level can be won
A solver checks each level before it ships, so every one can be solved without boosters.
Seven chapters, seventy murals
A lantern path winds through the valley of Hollowmere. New ideas arrive one at a time: critters, huddles of three, frost-stones that take two sparks, frost-locked Glimmers and frozen perches.
- Lantern Lane
- Bramble Wood
- Frozen Mill
- Aurora Ridge
- Hearthmere
- Moonlit Harbour
- Willowfen
A Daily Thaw
Beat level 4 and a fresh Daily Thaw waits for you each day. Win it to light your Hearth flame and keep a streak going.
Press and hold to preview
Not sure about a move? Press and hold a Glimmer to see how many tiles it would melt before you commit.
Paintings, valleys and postcards
Every painting is kept
Each mural you thaw keeps its finished painting on the Murals page of your Album. Tap one to see it up close. The paintings are made with an AI image tool and reviewed by hand.
Valleys come back to life
Thaw murals and the valley around them wakes up, and critters move in. Decorate it with lanterns, bunting, a windmill and a star kite, bought with embers.
Send a friend a postcard
Tap Send postcard on a thawed mural or on your valley and pick a friend in your phone's share sheet. Nothing is sent until you do.
Comfort and accessibility
Every colour has its own symbol, on the tiles and on the Glimmers, in every mode.
- Ember, flame
- Honey, sun
- Moss, leaf
- Glacier, drop
- Violet, moon
- Rose, berry
These two switches recolour this page the same way they recolour the game.
- Colour-blind palette. Colours picked to stay distinct for colour-blind eyes.
- High contrast. Stronger outlines on tiles and Glimmers.
- Reduced motion. Follows your phone's setting, or switch it on in Settings: fewer particles and shorter animations.
- VoiceOver and TalkBack. The lanes, boosters and buttons are labelled for the screen reader, and each painting has a spoken description.
- Tap twice to play. The first tap previews a move and the second plays it.
- Sound, music and haptics. Each has its own switch in Settings.
A look inside
A cleared mural thaws into a painting 
Every painting you win is kept in the Album 
Melt down to a critter and it wakes 
Five perches, four lanes and three boosters 
Press and hold to preview a move 
The lantern map and its bottom bar
Get Glimmerthaw
Play it on iPhone or Android. Questions are welcome at contact@optimumtechfusion.com.
Glimmerthaw has no ads. Usage data without your name or account is shared only if you agree, and you can turn it off in Settings: see the privacy policy. The Shop sells optional in-app purchases: embers, boosters, a Starter Pack and a Supporter Pack. You never need to buy anything to play every level.