Advanced Guide to Grundo Snowthrow

     It was an adorable avatar, one with an angry green Grundo standing with his fists clenched against a twinkling blue backdrop. It was perfect for the holiday season, and a must have in my book.

     Little did I know, that began a decade-long quest for that elusive avatar, more time than I had ever dedicated to any other avatar. So many times, I reached 7,000 or 8,000 points, only to be foiled by a pesky little hole I could not mend. So many times, I was foiled by the Snow Lupes as they took down my snowmen one by one. Finally, on a bright winter morning in December of Year 25, I completed that quest as a not-so-young Neopian. I am now the proud owner of Grundo Snowthrow!

     I’m here to share all the tips I’ve learned over a decade of snowballs and ice blocks. Read on if you find yourself in the shoes I once wore!

      Please note: This guide assumes you already know the basics of the game

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     TIP #1 - before the start of the game:

     Here’s a simple tip you probably already know. Restart the game until you get a good cluster of snowmen. You want them to be located close to the center of the screen, so you have plenty of space to place ice blocks around them.

     TIP #1b - but what you may not realise is that…

     The gamescore is determined by the SIZE of your fortress (that is, the blue area you build) and not by the number of snowmen you are protecting. So if you have four snowmen who are located very well, but a fifth one that is quite far away (let’s say, across the ice river) - feel free to abandon the fifth snowmen and just focus on the four!

     TIP #2 - after building your fortress…

     If you have extra time after mending your fortress, place as many random blocks as you can across the river. You may be able to build extra blue areas, which will give you a few extra points - yay! But even if you don’t, the opponent’s catapults will also target those ice blocks. This means fewer of their shots will hit your actual fortress - which is very, very helpful!

     TIP #3 - time to place your catapults!

     When it comes to catapults, more isn’t always better. Remember, the game continues only as long as you are able to build an enclosed fortress. This means leaving space to place ice blocks is your utmost priority; do not waste space on unnecessary catapults! I’ve found that around 10-15 catapults is all that you need.

     Also, try to place your catapults towards the center of the screen and away from the walls. This will give yourself space to mend your fortress in the later rounds.

     TIP #4 - what to do during the actual turn:

     Now that you’ve built your fortress and placed your catapults, it’s time to attack!

     At the start of every round, attack all five yetis. You have to aim your crosshair at the yeti, not at the catapult in front of them. Fortunately, the yetis (and their catapults) don’t move around much, so it should be relatively easy to hit them on your first try.

     After destroying the yetis, one’s natural inclination is to begin attacking the snow Lupes. Yes, attacking the snow Lupes can be important. You need to get rid of them when they’re in danger of destroying your snowmen, or when they’ve clustered around the walls of your fortress and are impeding your ability to place ice blocks. However, I strongly suggest not spending too much time on the snow Lupes. Instead, you need to focus on…

     TIP #5 - destroying your own fortress!

     “HUH?” I hear you cry. “I thought I was supposed to be protecting my fortress, not tearing it down!”

     That’s right! But small holes are much more difficult to mend than big holes. This is because the ice blocks you get will become quite large in size as the game progresses. So, if you have a small hole in the wall of your fortress, destroy the surrounding area until you get a nice big hole which will be easier to patch.

     You should also preempt those small-hole situations by keeping the walls of your fortress as simple and clean as possible. Ideally, your walls should only span the width of one ice block. Having thick walls can create situations where you get one tiny hole surrounded by ice blocks. These holes will be almost impossible to patch, unless you are lucky enough to get a tiny ice block.

     Tip #6 - before pressing “Continue”...

     At the end of every turn, the “Continue” screen will pop up. Before selecting “Continue”, make sure you survey your walls for any holes. This will help you to get straight to mending when the turn begins, giving you precious extra seconds.

     Tip #6 - take a break!

     There’s no time limit in between rounds. The round only begins when you click the “Continue” button. So remember to take a break, have some water, whenever your eyes or your fingers begin to grow fatigued.

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     Alright, that’s all the tips I have for you! Of these, I believe mastering Tip #5 is the most important to getting through the later rounds of the game. I wish you good luck and hope you’ll add Grundo Snowthrow to your collection soon!