SNOWBALL ROYALE

A snowball fight at dusk: duck behind snow walls, lob over them, and roll a giant one to flatten everybody.

SNOWBALL ROYALE All games

SNOWBALL ROYALE

A snowball fight at dusk: duck behind snow walls, lob over them, and roll a giant one to flatten everybody.

Up to six kids, one snowy garden, ninety seconds. A click throws a fast flat snowball that a wall will stop; hold it and you lob one over the wall instead, and a red ring on the ground shows you where theirs are coming down. Scoop fresh snow to reload and you dig the ground bare, so nobody can camp. Build your own walls, belly-dive under throws and tackle people, or hold R and roll a snowball until it is big enough to flatten anyone in its way.

Four modes - free-for-all, 2 v 2, 3 v 3 and King of the Fort - across eight maps, from a frozen pond where dives slide forever to a sledging hill where big balls run away downhill. The AI kids are snipers, rushers, builders and cowards, and they get sharper on every map you unlock. Every round pays coins for hats and scarves.

What is in it: Cartoon kids throw snowballs at each other; three hits knock a kid out to the sidelines and they come back a few seconds later. A dog runs through and knocks kids over. The screen shakes and its edges briefly go red when you are hit. Nothing graphic. More for parents

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Controls

  • WASD / arrowsmove
  • Mouse + clickaim · fast flat throw
  • Hold clickcharge a lob over walls
  • Space / Shift / right clickdive · tackle
  • E (or stand still)scoop snow
  • Qbuild a snow wall (3 snowballs)
  • Hold Rroll a big snowball
  • Touchleft thumb moves, right thumb aims · DIVE WALL ROLL SCOOP buttons
Hit a snowy tree when enemies are standing under it: the whole load drops on them for a hit each and a long stun, but it hits your own side too, and the tree needs about 8 seconds to load up again.

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How to play

SNOWBALL ROYALE is a top-down snowball fight in snowy gardens and parks at dusk. You are the kid with the yellow ring. Move with W A S D or the arrows and aim with the mouse. A click throws a fast, flat snowball that stops at the first wall. Hold the button to charge a lob: it arcs over walls, hedges and snowmen and lands on the yellow ring on the ground, and a full charge reaches nearly three times as far as a barely charged lob. Every lob in the air shows a dashed ring where it will land, red for an enemy's, and the ring closes in as it drops. A red ring under your feet means move.

You start with 4 snowballs and carry up to 8. To get more, stand still on fresh snow for a moment or hold E, and you scoop 2. Each scoop digs a patch down to the grass, so you have to keep moving to find more. Three hits knock you out to the sidelines for a few seconds. Go six seconds without being hit and your health comes back, one point every three and a half seconds.

Q builds a snow wall in front of you for 3 snowballs. You can have three up at once; a fourth knocks down your oldest. Space, Shift or right click is a dive, a fast belly-slide that ducks under flat throws and tackles anyone you hit. Hold R and walk to roll a snowball. It grows over snow and slows you down as it gets heavier; let go and it keeps rolling. A big one flattens any kid it runs into and slowly crushes walls.

Tips and strategy

  • Flat throws for open ground, lobs for cover. A kid behind a wall is safe from clicks but not from a lob. Walls also get lower as they are hit, and a battered one lets flat throws sail over.
  • Dive through a flat throw. A dive is your dodge and your way in at once. On the Frozen Pond dives slide twice as long, and a belly-slide through deep snow picks up a snowball.
  • Never stand under a loaded tree. Hit a snowy tree and it dumps its load on everyone underneath: a hit each and a long stun. It needs about 8 seconds to load up enough snow to drop again, and 14 to fill completely. The dump hits your own side too.
  • Roll big balls downhill. On Sledging Hill a big snowball runs away down the slope by itself. You can grab any free ball with R, even one an enemy left behind.
  • Watch for the dog. Every 15 to 25 seconds a dog runs through and knocks over anyone in its way. Hit it and it bolts.

What's in it

Four modes, each a 90-second round. Free-for-all is you and five AI kids with three lives each; the last one standing wins, or whoever has the most lives at the whistle. 2 v 2 is first to 8 knockouts and 3 v 3 first to 12, with you on blue. In King of the Fort a ring of walls stands in the middle; stand in it alone to score a point a second, and the first to 25 wins.

Eight maps, each with its own trick: Back Garden, School Playground (no snow on the tarmac, only in the drifts), Frozen Pond (sliding ice), Sledging Hill, Allotments, Bandstand Park, Hedge Maze (tall hedges to lob over) and Fort Park, where two big forts are already built. You unlock the next map by finishing top three in free-for-all, winning a team match, or coming first or second in King of the Fort. The kids get sharper on each new map and a little sharper with every win.

The AI kids come in four kinds. Snipers keep their distance, lob over cover and knock trees onto people. Rushers close in, dive and roll big balls at you. Builders put up walls when caught in the open. Cowards hang back and run for cover on their last hit.

Points: 10 for a hit, 50 for a knockout, 60 for flattening someone with a big ball, 20 for a tree dump, and 5 for a tackle or a wall knocked down, plus a bonus for where you finish. Your score divided by 20 comes back as coins, plus 5 for a win. Coins buy hats and scarves: there are nine hats (two free from the start), up to a 400-coin Snow Crown, and seven scarves (two free), up to a 200-coin Rainbow one. Coat colour is free.

Questions

How do I earn coins faster?

Coins are your score divided by 20, so big plays pay. Flattening someone beats a knockout, and first place in free-for-all adds 300 points.

Why can't I pick up snow?

Either you already carry 8, or the ground under you is dug bare. Look for untouched white snow. The School Playground tarmac has none, so head for the drifts.

How hard is it?

The first map is gentle, and there the AI kids go after each other more than you. On each later map they aim better, react faster and throw more often.

Does it save?

Yes, in your own browser: coins, hats and scarves, unlocked maps, your best score in each mode, your wins and the sound settings. Clearing your browser's site data clears the save.

Can I play on a phone?

Yes, held either way up. Your left thumb on the left half moves, your right thumb aims. A quick tap throws at the nearest kid, and holding charges a lob that goes as far as you drag. There are buttons for dive, wall, roll and scoop.

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