New free ski game allows players to experience almost any resort in Colorado — and around the world

Gergely Kovács has never skied or snowboarded in the Colorado Rocky Mountains — at least not in real life.

But Kovács — who lives in Budapest, Hungary — has visited Breckenridge Ski Resort and other Colorado ski resorts virtually. The free online game he created allows users to ski or snowboard at more than 6,000 ski resorts around the world, including nearly every single resort in Colorado, big or small.

“My goal with this game was for myself to explore places I haven’t been to,” Kovács said. “I plan to go to the Rockies maybe in the future, but so far I have no opportunity. I watch (videos) on YouTube, but I myself can’t go there.”

Bonvo.ski, also known as Bonvo Ride for snowboarders, is a free online game that uses open-source data from OpenStreetMap.org to recreate the slopes, trails and mountain environments of ski resorts worldwide.  

Players can choose which resort they want to ski or snowboard at, then simulate riding down the slopes, doing tricks and jumps along the way or racing against friends. In Colorado, the game includes every major resort, including Breckenridge Ski Resort, Keystone Resort, Vail Mountain, Aspen Snowmass, Copper Mountain, Steamboat Ski Resort and Winter Park, as well as smaller ski areas like Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, Loveland Ski Area, Granby Ranch, Sunlight Mountain Resort, Ski Cooper and Monarch Mountain.

Kovács said that he started developing the game over a year ago while he was injured during the winter season and couldn’t get out on his local slopes. 

As a long-time skier who recently switched over to snowboarding, he said the original purpose of the game was to map runs so that he could learn the mountains and avoid long flat sections — or “cat tracks” — that can create difficulties for snowboarders. European ski resorts in particular are notorious for long cat tracks.

“As a rider, for me, it’s a big hustle if there’s a flat spot at the resort. With a ski, it doesn’t matter, you just roll by and you can go through,” Kovács said. “But as a rider, you’re afraid that you’ll need to toss yourself for hundreds of meters.”

But when Kovács started sharing the demo with his friends, he said they were “stoked,” so he started adding multiplayer features so that they could ski and ride different mountains around the world together.

Then, a few weeks ago, he shared the game on Reddit. Within three days, more than 135,000 players had tried the game.

“I’m not a game developer, but it just flew off,” Kovács said. 

Players can join public lobbies where they can race other players around the world, with new races starting every minute, or they can create a party to play with up to 16 friends. There’s a freeride mode with no rules, as well as an arcade mode with missions and unlockable features.

Skiers and riders can also use the game as Kovács originally intended for himself, to get a sense of how to navigate a new mountain ahead of a visit. While the computer renderings are not 100% accurate, he said they’re usually close enough to provide a basic overview of the mountain and how lifts connect to major base areas.

“For example, a very real use case for families (is) if you have a child or two and you want to plan ahead,” Kovács said. “You want to hype up your children? OK. Try out a multiplayer session, so they have the motivation to go out or to choose good slopes for your whole family.”

While no account is required to play, those who do choose to register get to choose what gear their rider wears — and there’s an ongoing friendly competition between the number of registered skiers and snowboarders on the site. 

As of Thursday, Nov. 5, about 10,000 snowsports enthusiasts had registered an account on Bonvo.ski, with about 53% skiers and 47% snowboarders. Kovács noted that there are currently no gameplay differences between choosing a skier or a snowboarder.

“It’s a very, deeply nested thing that should be playful,” he said of the skier versus snowboarder competition.

Kovács, who works remotely for a Salt Lake City-based software company, said that Bonvo.ski has also received positive feedback from his American colleagues who ski and snowboard. 

He added that while the game is currently just a side project, he wants to grow it into a full-time endeavor and business opportunity — although the goal is to keep it free for everybody, at least for this season.

“I really hope so,” Kovács said. “Maybe it will finance my ski run in the Rockies.”