Cosmic Geek

When PvZ Insider took over WoW.com for a couple hours last April Fools Day, I promised a strategy for the Bobsled Bonanza minigame.  Though PvZ, Hardcore was just a joke column, the advice inside was real because, unlike my WoW playstyle, I really do play Plants vs. Zombies hardcore. I do think that I have a foolproof strategy for beating Boblsed Bonanza, even with really bad luck.

The Zomboni isn’t what makes the game hard, it’s the Bobsled Zombies who zerg before you have enough resources saved up to eradicate them.  The key is to eliminate the Bobsledders as cheaply as possible and prevent them from coming back, while you build up your army.  To do this, you need the right tools:

• Sunflower Duh. Set up two columns to get the sun you require.
• Lily Pad It’s a pool level, so this is another duh.
• Cattail It will take a while for you to be able to save up enough sun to afford these, but once you do, your Bobsled Team worries are almost over.
• Tangle Kelp Your Cattails will be busy elsewhere. Tangle Kelps will allow you to not worry about the pool until you’ve stopped having to deal with the Bobsledders.
• Squash The Squash is your oh-poop plant to be used if your Jalapenos are recharging.
• Jalapeno These not only clear out a row of Zombies, but also melt all of the ice in the row.
• Jalapeno Imitator This is the real trick to clearing out the early Bobsled Team invasions. Imitators take a second or two to activate, so do not plant right next to a Zombie, because it may get eaten before it goes off.
• Spikeweed Takes out a Zomboni, but is destroyed in the process.  Just lay it down and let the Zomboni run over it, so you can concentrate on more pressing issues.
• Spikerock Turns Spikeweed into a semi-permanent solution.  It will kill several Zombonis before being destroyed.
• Any 100 sun shooter You need a shooter, but it needs to be cheap because you won’t get a glut of sun until the very end.  I use Kernelpults in this example, but Cabbage-pults and Peashooters will do just as well.

Strategy

Sunflowers You want them in two columns: column 1 (starting from the left) and column three. Start with the ones not in the pool first and then move to the pool using the same configuration.

Keep planting Sunflowers as quickly as they recharge.  If a Zomboni shows up, plant a Spikeweed in the rightmost column before the ice in the Zomboni’s row and go back to planting Sunflowers until you have your two rows.

Bobsled Team Prevention

When a Bobsled Team appears, plant a Jalapeno in column 2 of the same row. Use the Imitator first when you have a choice if you have room. Don’t put up a shooter yet.  Then go back to planting Sunflowers until the next invasion.

Once you’ve cleared a row, make sure you put a Spikeweed there the moment a Zomboni shows up, so no more ice is formed.  When all four rows are clear of ice, start putting Spikerocks down over Spikeweeds in the rightmost column until that column is guaranteed ice free.  Then you can start putting your shooters in row 2.

The Pool

As soon as you have both Sunflower columns up and at least 350 sun, plant Cattails on Lily Pads. Also, plant Tangle Kelps in the rightmost part of the pool working left as they recharge as soon you have your Sunflower columns.

Without any Bobsledders to worry about, your biggest problem toward the end will be the pool. So plant a shooter in each row and also an extra Lily Pad to use your Jalapenos on.

Bad luck

If, at the beginning, you get one of those runs with terrible luck so that you have all Bobsledders and no Zombonis, don’t waste sun by putting shooters down. Just let the lawnmower do its thing and rebuild afterward.  You’re going to need your sun to put down more Jalapenos when they recharge.

Overall, the strategy is Bobsled prevention and Sun conservation.  Clear them out when they show up and then place Spikerocks down to prevent further zergs.  Don’t waste sun on damaging them any other way than full nuking with Jalapenos.  Then enjoy having Bobsled Bonanza on farm.

If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments.  Good luck!