The Arctic is the area in the north of Canada that includes Baffin and the Arctic Islands. This is a very harsh environment. There is snow as far as the eye can see for much of the year. The Arctic has no trees, it is above the tree line.

The people who live here are called the Inuit. In the past they lived in igloos in the winter. Now they use igloos only for temporary shelters while out hunting.

The freezing temperatures and the shorter days throughout the winter kept the people inside a good portion of the time. They played games that required very little space, because there was not a lot of free space inside the igloo. Igloos had to be small because the snow blocks used to build them formed a self-supporting arch. An arch that is too wide will not support itself and will fall in.