Snowdin Puzzles

PREPARE YOURSELF!! FOR HIGH JINKS! FOR LOW JINKS!
DANGERS! PUZZLES! CAPERS! JAPERS!
BEING CAPTURED!! AND OTHER SORTS OF FUN ACTIVITIES.
REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED...
IF YOU DARE!

Papyrus

Puzzles are a prominent component in Undertale. In Snowdin, the protagonist finds puzzles set up by Papyrus and Sans. If the protagonist is on the Genocide Route, most puzzles are skipped as they have already been solved. Some of these puzzles are implied to have been solved by Flowey.

The Invisible Electricity Maze

Papyrus as he is electrocuted.

The Invisible Electricity Maze is one of the first puzzles encountered in Snowdin. This puzzle always begins electrocuting Papyrus, who is holding the electric orb and is on the exit, no matter where the protagonist enters the maze. Papyrus then walks to the protagonist in order to give them the orb while accidentally leaving footprints that show the correct path. The maze cannot actually harm the protagonist if they touch the "invisible wall" and get electrocuted.

If the protagonist attempts to walk away from this puzzle, Papyrus asks the protagonist not to be rude since they made the puzzle for them. Backing away again causes Papyrus to ask if the protagonist treats their mother the same way when she makes them a puzzle. Afterwards, he just responds with "HUMANS...".

The protagonist in front of the Invisible Electricity Maze.

On the Genocide Route, the protagonist walks to the middle of the maze while Papyrus is monologuing. Papyrus becomes nervous, and then believes that the protagonist is having culture shock and explains that it is a tradition in the underground to suffer through puzzles. The protagonist then walks closer to Papyrus; Papyrus gets nervous but then complains about the protagonist not liking puzzles and leaves.

Monster Kidz Word Search

The puzzle on the ground.

The Monster Kidz Word Search is an unsolvable word search puzzle that Sans sets up to trap the protagonist. The word search contains a bear-faced ice cube named "Ice-E". The puzzle can contain a snowman with Ice-E's face named "Nightmare" that only appears when the fun value is set to 56 or 57. If the protagonist attempts to leave back to the room to the left, Papyrus complains to Sans that the latter made the puzzle too hard. The word giasfclfebrehber is not present in the word search, as the top line reads giasfclfubrehber.

The word search itself.

The "Nightmare" mode variant of the word search.

On the Neutral Route, regardless of if the protagonist looks at the puzzle or not, Papyrus gets enraged that puzzle has not done anything, and Sans mentions that he should have put down a crossword instead. The protagonist then has to decide if Crossword or Junior Jumble is harder, which alters dialogue from an NPC in the Snowdin Library and Sans's Lost Soul dialogue in the True Pacifist Route.

Ice-E's official tarot card as Major Arcana 0, "The Fool".

If the protagonist is on the Genocide Route and skips the puzzle, Sans instead mentions that he should have put down Junior Jumble. However, if the protagonist decides to look at the puzzle, Papyrus complains that the protagonist has not skipped the puzzle and exits.

Its name might come from a character that appears on one of Andrew Hussie's earlier works, "And It Don't Stop".

The frozen spaghetti

The plate of frozen spaghetti, next to Papyrus's note, an unplugged microwave, a mouse hole, and a SAVE Point.

The plate of frozen spaghetti is a jape left by Papyrus designed to entice and distract the protagonist from progressing. Next to the frozen spaghetti is an unplugged microwave with spaghetti being the only settings and a note left by Papyrus explaining the purpose of the spaghetti. It also acts as a SAVE Point and another spot where a mouse is trying to get cheese.

At the end of the True Pacifist Route, the spaghetti becomes lukewarm, and it seems like whoever was trying to eat the spaghetti, presumably the mouse, just gave up. The note is then changed to announce that the spaghetti has been donated to the public.

The snow puzzle

The snow puzzle is a room found in Snowdin where the solution for removing the spikes is found underneath a sheet of snow that the protagonist can kick around. The switch itself is located in the upper right portion of the room surrounded by trees.

On the Genocide Route, the switch has already been pressed down by vines, meaning that the puzzle had already been completed before the protagonist entered the room.

The XOXO puzzles

The XOXO puzzles are puzzles where the protagonist has to turn all the blue X-shaped fields into red O-shaped fields without stepping on the O-shaped fields after their transformation, causing them to turn into green triangle-shaped fields. Pressing on the switch found in each puzzle resets the switch if the puzzle is incomplete, pressing on the switch when all the tiles are red O-shaped fields solves the puzzle and turns them green. This puzzle is always reset upon leaving and reentering regardless of completion. There are three variants of this puzzle that can be found in Snowdin.

The first XOXO puzzle.

The first version of this puzzle is a small puzzle only containing two tiles that need to be stepped on and rocks surrounding the switches. Completion of this puzzle gets rid of the spikes that bar the protagonist from proceeding.

The second XOXO puzzle.

The second version of this puzzle is a larger puzzle with 15 tiles that need to be stepped on. The puzzle can be solved by walking over the tiles correctly, but if the protagonist has difficulty solving the puzzle, they can ask Papyrus, who reveals that there is a switch on a nearby tree trunk. Completion of the puzzle gets rid of the spikes which bar the protagonist from proceeding and allows the player to view the right side of the room.

The third XOXO puzzle.

The final version of this puzzle is an even larger puzzle which has 12 tiles that need to be stepped on while sliding on ice. Completion of this puzzle creates a bridge that allows the protagonist to slide over to the other side of the room.

On the Genocide Route, most of the barriers that bar the protagonist from progressing on the next room have been removed.

Multicolor Tile Puzzle

Main article: Multicolor Tile Puzzle

The tile maze puzzle generating an almost impossibly convenient pattern.

The Multicolor Tile Puzzle found in Snowdin is always randomly generated upon its first appearance and when the puzzle is being generated, but always results in the same red and pink tile pattern if the protagonist claims to have understood the instructions. Papyrus first explains the instructions for the puzzle to the protagonist in an overly complex manner.

• Red tiles act as solid walls.
• Yellow tiles force the protagonist back to the last tile they stepped on (the player's controls are locked in the meantime).
• Green tiles sound an alarm and makes the protagonist fight a monster after the puzzle. During the puzzle, it functions the same as pink tiles.
• Orange tiles change the protagonist's flavor to "Orange".
• Purple tiles act similarly to the ice tiles in Snowdin; they force the protagonist to the next tile in the direction they are facing (the player's controls are locked in the meantime). Additionally, purple tiles change the protagonist's flavor to "Lemon".
• Blue tiles vary in function depending on the following factors:
  • If the blue tile is adjacent to a yellow tile, the blue tile functions identically to a yellow tile.
  • If the protagonist's flavor is "Orange", the blue tile functions identically to a yellow tile.
  • If neither of the above conditions is met, the blue tile functions identically to a pink tile.
• Pink tiles have no effect and can be walked on freely.

If the protagonist does not understand the instructions, Papyrus attempts to explain the puzzle again but gets the rules mixed up. If the protagonist says that they understand the rules even less, Papyrus leaves behind an illegible chicken scratch then tells the protagonist to do the puzzle when they understand the instructions.

This puzzle is activated when Papyrus uses the Mettaton-esque machine, but does not operate if the protagonist tries to interact with it.

On the Genocide Route, the protagonist walks to the middle of the puzzle before Papyrus can explain it. Papyrus complains to Sans that the protagonist keeps walking through his puzzles and japes when they are supposed to allow Papyrus to explain them. When Sans mentions that Undyne also does not like puzzles, Papyrus counters, saying that although she hates puzzles, she loves japes. Papyrus attempts to give the protagonist a choice between puzzles and japes, but when the protagonist fails to respond, he gives up trying to engage with them, leaving behind illegible instructions for the puzzle, and leaves.

The Gauntlet of Deadly Terror

The Gauntlet of Deadly Terror at the rock formation painted to look like a dangerous bridge.

The Gauntlet of Deadly Terror is the final "puzzle" encountered in Snowdin found on a rock formation painted to look like a dangerous bridge. It consists of a spiky ball tethered by chains, two spears, the Annoying Dog, an oil drum fire pit, and a cannon. The gauntlet is supposed to activate when Papyrus says a certain word, but Papyrus retracts the puzzle since he considers it too straightforward and easy to capture the protagonist with, and he wants it to be fair.

On the Genocide Route, Papyrus just says that the protagonist would simply walk right through it if he activated it and mentions that it would not be fun. Papyrus then realizes that he has the wrong audience and saves the puzzle for Undyne.

Outside of Undertale

Deltarune

While Ice-E does not appear outside of the Word Search puzzle in Undertale, he is more prominent in Deltarune where he is the mascot of ICE-E's P"E"ZZA in Hometown. In addition to this appearance, a puzzle in Cyber Field uses the word giasfelfebrehber, and it is later revealed that the word is his catchphrase.

UNDERTALE 10th Anniversary Stream

During the 10th Anniversary Stream, Fire-E, a fiery version of Ice-E, appears as the school mascot of the stream-exclusive location called Hotland High. An NPC resembling the ficus licker explains that the mascot is extremely unpopular, and no one is sure how he came into being. They question the logic of a fire-based mascot sweating.

Trivia

• In the Monster Kidz Word Search, the words: "monster", "skeletons", "mermaid", and "robot" refer to the characters: Toriel, Papyrus/Sans, Undyne, and Mettaton. The words: "fall", "winter", "spring", and "summer" may be referring to the areas in the game: Ruins, Snowdin, Waterfall, and Hotland, and their apparent seasons. The words: "cigars" and "cig" refer to fact that the person who made the word search smokes cigars all the time.
• Ice-E has been deemed the "greatest and most popular Undertale character" by Toby Fox.