Snowball Survival is one of the rounds in Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. This round is a Survival round and has been introduced in Season 3 (Legacy)'s mid-season update.
According to this blog post, this round was designed by Max Boyle.
Course description[ | ]
Standard version[ | ]
Snowball Survival is a survival round. All players start in a bowl with icy walls and a circular base made out of two different kinds of hexagonal tiles: the teal tiles never break and form the shape of a snowflake in the middle of the arena. The remaining tiles in the center of the snowflake and on the outer edge of the arena are ice tiles like the ones found on Thin Ice and continually crack to a weakened state, eventually breaking after being stood on for too long.
At the start of the round, cannons shoot a total of two giant snowballs into the bowl. These balls can move decently fast, and will knock the player a significant amount if they are hit by the ball. Even if all the ice tiles are destroyed, the snowballs never fall into them. The snowballs can also bump into each other, suddenly changing direction after the collision.
This round runs for a total of 1 minute, after which all remaining survivors qualify for the next round.
Alternate versions[ | ]
The Season 5.1 (Legacy) update added 3 alternate tile arrangements:
- Alternating Edge Tiles: featuring a slightly different pattern for the outer perimeter. Can be combined with other arrangements.
- More Tiles: which replaces the centre ice pattern with way more ice tiles, which can be broken to create multiple holes.
- Safe Centre: which (as its name suggests) replaces the ice-tiled centre with a safe teal-tiled centre.
The Season 1 update added this variation:
- Only one snowball may spawn.
This variation is exclusive for the Survival of the Fittest playlist:
- Three snowballs may spawn.
Course changes[ | ]
- In Season 1, the unbreakable tiles were changed from pink to teal.
- Also in Season 1, snowballs can now break the ice.
Course strategy[ | ]
Standard version[ | ]
Survival[ | ]
Simply trying to stay as much as you can on the teal tiles and only using the ice tiles when absolutely necessary while keeping track of the position of the snowballs at all times will make it harder for the snowballs to knock players into the slime. This will likely mean that more players make it into the next round, however. Keep in mind that players may intentionally break the tiles, making survival harder for everyone else.
"Chasing"[ | ]
Intentionally chasing after a snowball can vastly reduce the chance that it will hit you. It is still important to pay attention to where the other snowball is, as well as to the holes on the ground, as to not be taken off-guard. This is the preferred strategy in the one snowball variant.
Circling[ | ]
A variation of the chasing strategy, it involves running around the central hole of the arena in such a way that you're chasing after a snowball and being chased by the other one, essentially running laps around the arena with them. This strategy is only really effective if the snowballs are rolling along the arena without colliding with one another.
Sabotage[ | ]
Intentionally destroying the central and outer layer tiles can make it harder to avoid the slime due to the reduced surface area and larger gaps of the arena. This strategy is risky without any awareness however as the player focused on breaking tiles could lose track of where the snowballs are and suddenly find themselves hit by one of them.
Grabbing[ | ]
As with any other survival game, grabbing can disrupt other players, pushing (or making them fall) into gaps or putting them on a snowball's path, especially if the "victim" happens to be standing on an ice tile that's about to shatter. This can easily backfire as other players may grab the grabber in turn or the victim might grab the grabber back, causing both of them to fall or get hit by snowballs. Best to grab other players from the side or the back so that they cannot retaliate if pursuing this strategy.
Miscellaneous[ | ]
- The cannon will fire snowballs from your left, so keep that in mind for the initial part and dodge out of the way if necessary.
- As Season 4 (Legacy) made changes to the Fall Guy's physics to make them sturdier, you are now less likely to be flung violently if hit by the ball, making surviving from this round much easier.
Alternate versions[ | ]
- With the ice tiles spread all over the level instead of clustered in the center and edge, the map becomes significantly harder to navigate. Try to find a safe spot by the edges and keep an eye out for the snowballs, moving accordingly when needed. If you must cross the map for any reason, do so quickly and carefully.
- With the center made out of solid tiles instead of ice, Snowball Survival obviously becomes a lot easier. The center area becomes safer, allowing more room to dodge the incoming snowballs without risk of falling through the center of the map.
- One snowball is vastly easier to pay attention to, with the bulk of the danger coming from the other players.
- Conversely, three snowballs are a huge killer, especially when always paired with the increased number of ice tiles variation in Survival of the Fittest. Thankfully the round eliminates to a quota so you have to play carefully enough that others are eliminated before you.
Final Variants[ | ]
A Final variant was introduced in the Satellite Repair Mission playlist on 8 September 2022. In this variant, all players that collect 25 bubbles within 1 minute and 30 seconds win the show.
A second Final variant was introduced in the Casual Rumble playlist on 14 February 2024. In here, the timer is only 0:45 and there is only one snowball. As this is Casual Rumble, anyone who survives the round wins the show.
Casual Rumble[ | ]
This final variant is very easy to survive. As there is only one snowball, the chasing strategy could be very useful, but just surviving is all you need. There is no need to break tiles or grief other players as everyone who survives wins the round.
Medal thresholds[ | ]
- Gold - Qualified
- No medal - Eliminated
History[ | ]
| Season | Status | Map Theme |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | Not present | Not present |
| Season 1 (Legacy) | Not present | Not present |
| Season 2 (Legacy) | Not present | Not present |
| Season 3 (Legacy) | Active | Standard version |
| Season 4 (Legacy) | Active | Standard version |
| Season 5 (Legacy) | Active | Standard and alternate versions |
| Season 6 (Legacy) | Active | Standard and alternate versions |
| Season 1 | Active | Standard and alternate versions |
| Season 2 | Vaulted | Not available in Satellite Scramble core shows. Standard and alternate versions still available in some special shows and Custom Show |
| Season 3 | Vaulted | Vaulted from all shows. As of 7 March 2023, available exclusively in The Vault show in Custom Show |
| Season 4 | Active | Standard and alternate versions |
| Summer Breeze Update | Active | Standard and alternate versions |
| Fall Force Update | Active | Standard and alternate versions |
| Tool Up Update | Active | Standard and alternate versions |
| Power Party Update | Active | Standard and alternate versions |
| Shapes and Stickers Update | Active | Standard and alternate versions |
| Survival Update | Active | Standard and alternate versions |
Trivia[ | ]
- In Hard Mode and Survival of the Fittest, Snowball Survival's timer are increased to 1:30.
- This was the first Survival round added into the game after the beta.
- Snowball Survival was one of the few rounds that didn't use music from the season it was released. Up until the release of Season 3, it used Fall For The Team (the Season 1 (Legacy) survival music) despite being a Season 3 (Legacy) round.
- As of Season 3, it now plays Chimney Bean Bebop, the Season 3 (Legacy) team (and now also survival) soundtrack.
Names in other languages[ | ]
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Chinese (Simplified) | 雪球淘汰赛 (Xuě qiú táotàisài) |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 大雪球生存賽 (Dàxuě qiú shēngcún sài) |
| French | Boules de Neige en Folie |
| German | Schneeball-Überlebenskampf |
| Italian | Battaglia a Palle di Neve |
| Japanese | 雪玉サバイバル (Yukidama Sabaibaru) |
| Korean | 눈덩이 서바이벌 (Nundeong-i Seobaibeol) |
| Polish | Śnieżny Obóz Przetrwania |
| Portuguese | Sobrevivência na Neve |
| Russian | Снежковое Выживание (Snezhkovoye Vyzhivaniye) |
| Spanish | Supervivencia en la Nieve |
| Spanish (Latin America) | Supervivencia en la Nieve |
Gallery[ | ]
The standard variant of Snowball Survival
A variant without the icy tiles at the center
A variant with more icy tiles present
See also[ | ]
Block Party and Stompin' Ground, similar SURVIVAL rounds that also use a timer.- Kraken Slam, a similar FINAL round that also has tiles that break and do not break with an obstacle (Kraken Tentacles in this case) trying to eliminate players.
