TumbleSeed is an indie action video game, created by developer Benedict Fritz and designer Greg Wohlwend, in which the player balances a rolling seed on an ascending, horizontally slanted vine past procedurally generated obstacles to reach the top of a mountain.

A seed is tasked to fulfill a vague prophecy by ascending the mountain, progressing through the forest, jungle, desert, and snow, to save the town.

[1][2] The player controls an ascending, horizontal, and slanted vine to balance a rolling seed past procedurally generated holes and enemy obstacles to reach the top of a mountain.

As the game progresses, the player collects additional abilities, such as Flailflower, which turns the seed into an anchor for a spiky flail, and Floodfruit, which fills surrounding holes with water for easy passage.

[3] The basecamp also contains minigames, such as a shooting range, a gambling device, and optional sidequests, which reward the player with shortcuts to later stages in subsequent playthroughs for completing challenges such as finishing a level within a time limit or without receiving damage.

[3] The Four Peaks patch adds several elements to make the game friendlier, including training levels, a Weekly Challenge, and benefits that persist between playthroughs.

Developer Benedict Fritz later prototyped a version of Ice Cold Beer in the Unity game engine with a simple white background and black, circular holes.

[10] They also worked through a Cards Against Humanity game incubation program in 2015,[11] and several other indie developers based in Chicago joined the production: David Laskey, Jenna Blazevich, and composer Joel Corelitz.

[13] With the announcement of the Nintendo Switch, the development team sought to become a "flagship" demonstration of the console's HD Rumble feature,[10] in which the player proprioceptively "feels" in-game textures through the controller's fine-tuned vibrations.

[14] The developers thought that the Switch's "high-fidelity vibration" afforded players a greater sense of in-game detail with better perception about the seed's speed and direction.

[15][10] Designer Greg Wohlwend saw the game as sharing classic Nintendo attributes, including a wide color palette, accessibility, and difficulty.

[3] Reviewers additionally compared the Ice Cold Beer conceit to the core mechanic of Shrek n' Roll (2007)[3] and portable, plastic maze puzzles.

[4][2] TumbleSeed stops short of the "masocore" genre of punishingly difficult games, but its imprecise controls nevertheless demand patience to develop proficiency and mastery.

[23] In a postmortem released alongside a set of updates, TumbleSeed designer Greg Wohlwend credited the game's slow sales to the title's tepid critical reception and stigma of high difficulty.

The "4 Peaks Update" added four new areas and abilities to simplify the game, such as reducing incoming damage or increasing stealth near enemies.