About Ski Manager
A free, browser-based ski resort tycoon - built by one developer who loves the mountains.
What is Ski Manager?
Ski Manager is a free-to-play browser-based ski resort management sim. You take on the role of a resort owner - building slopes and lifts, hiring staff, managing budgets, and competing to run the most successful resort.
The Story
Ski Manager began as a small hobby project to find out whether a skiing-themed management game could work in the browser. It picked up a community, evolved through several iterations, and in 2026 was rebuilt from scratch as Version 2 - a complete rewrite with a modern codebase, redesigned interface, and far deeper gameplay.
Today it runs dozens of interconnected systems, from hourly weather and snowmaking to compliance, insurance, finance, and terrain park design.
The Developer
Ski Manager is built by Marcel, a web developer and skiing enthusiast. It's a one-person project combining a love of winter sports with full-stack development - Marcel handles design, code, server infrastructure, and the community. The game is free, ad-supported, and never pay-to-win.
Technology
- Backend: CodeIgniter 4 (PHP) with Shield auth
- Frontend: Tailwind CSS 4 + DaisyUI 5
- Trail Map: Leaflet.js, imagery from Mapsynergy/Skimap
- Icons: Font Awesome 6
- Database: MySQL 9
- Hosting: VPS with Cloudflare CDN and SSL
- Error Tracking: Sentry
Built with WCAG 2.2 accessibility in mind - keyboard navigation, screen readers, and reduced-motion support.
Real Equipment Brands
For authenticity, the game features real ski-industry brands:
- PistenBully and Prinoth snow groomers
- TechnoAlpin, Demaclenko, HKD, and SMI snowmaking systems
All brand names and trademarks are property of their respective owners. Their inclusion is for simulation and educational purposes only.