Cooler Than Ice

Since original Icehouse is more like a sport than most board games, it was felt by the founders of Icehouse Games, Inc. that good sportsmanship was a necessary part of good Icehouse play. Since good sportsmanship is not always conducive to winning, they instituted a sportsmanship prize for the International Icehouse Tournament.

In the original rulebooks, good Icehouse sportsmanship was referred to as "cool" playing. Actions that were legal according to the rules but were unlikely to win you many friends were referred to as "uncool". To indicate that a player best exemplified the spirit of "cool" in a tournament, they were awarded the "Cooler Than Ice" award for that tournament.

This award is still given at the IIT, as well as at most other Icehouse tournaments.