Plants Vs Zombies Game Guide

Plants Vs Zombies Game Guide
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| |                                                                         | |
| |    Plants Vs Zombies Game Guide v0.50                                   | |
| |    by Curby                                       | |
| |                                                                         | |
| |    Copyright (C) 2009 Michael Lee, licensed under CC BY-ND 3.0          | |
| |                                                                         | |
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|  000: Table of Contents                                                     |
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To jump to a section, search for its section number followed by a colon instead
of a period.  Percentage for a section indicates work completed there.

000. Table of Contents (~100%)

100. About this Guide (~100%)

200. Game Introduction (~100%)
  210. Gameplay Overview
  220. Game Modes
  230. Unlockable and For-Sale Items (~100%)
  240. Tips (??)

300. Adventure Walkthrough
  310. Stage 1 - Front Lawn, Day (95%)
  320. Stage 2 - Front Lawn, Night (95%)
  330. Stage 3 - Back Yard, Pool
  340. Stage 4 - Back Yard, Pool and Fog
  350. Stage 5 - Roof
    35F. Level 5-10 (final boss level)

400. Mini-Games Walkthrough (15%)

500. Puzzles Walkthrough (0%)

600. Survival Walkthrough (95%)
  610. First Stage (Flags 1-2)
  620. First Stage (Flags 3-4)
  630. Later Stages (Flags 5-10)
  640. Location-specific Considerations

700. Zen Garden Walkthrough (55%)

800. Plant Army (5%)

900. Zombie Army (0%)



,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
|  100: About this Guide                                                      |
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--- Availability --------------------------------------------------------------

Whether you found this guide on the Internet or through email, please know the
latest version is always available for free from my site [1] and GameFAQs [2].

[1] http://curby.net/docs/games/plantsvszombies.txt
[2] http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/959255/56545

--- Copyright and License -----------------------------------------------------

This guide is Copyright (C) 2009 Michael Lee, and released under the terms of
the Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives License [3].

This license gives you (and everyone else) my explicit approval to copy, email,
repost, etc. this guide as long as it remains unchanged and in whole (including
this copyright and license statement).  You can even sell it, though you cannot
remove the notice above that the latest version is always available for free.

All trademarks used herein that are listed at [4] are owned by PopCap Games,
Inc. or its licensors and may be registered in some countries. Other company
and product names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners and
are used for the benefit of those owners.

[3] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/
[4] http://www.popcap.com/trademarks.php

--- Status / History  ---------------------------------------------------------

This guide was started because Plants vs. Zombies was the most requested FAQ on
GameFAQs.  It is a work in progress, focusing on a walkthrough of Adventure
mode for beginners and advanced strategies for seasoned players.

2009-05-28 Stage 3 of Adventure, etc.
2009-05-18 Stage 2 of Adventure, changed license, survival mode, misc changes
2009-05-15 Initial release

--- Searching -----------------------------------------------------------------

To jump to a section, type its number as listed in the table of contents, fol-
lowed by the colon symbol.  If you wanted to go to section 1064, you'd search
for "1064:" without the quotation marks.  Each level in the Adventure mode has
its own section number consisting of 3, the stage number, and the level number.
The third level of the second stage is at section 323, and the tenth level of
the fourth stage is at section 34F (F indicates the final level of that stage).

--- Links ---------------------------------------------------------------------

URLs are often too long to place in-line with the main text, so they will be
placed at the end of each section as footnotes.  For example, see the links in
the Copyright section above.



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|  200: Game Introduction                                                     |
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Plants Vs Zombies [5] is a tower defense [6] game in which you defend your
house from a horde of Zombies by placing plants in areas around your house.

This guide is not an instruction manual.  While many walkthroughs spend time
repeating controls and other introductory material, this guide will focus
entirely on how to play the game effectively, not how perform basic functions.
Therefore, the following introductory sections will often refer to the game's
readme file [7].  If you don't have access to the Internet while reading this
guide, you can also find the readme file in the game's installation directory.

[5] http://www.popcap.com/games/pvz
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_defense
[7] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html



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|  210: Gameplay Overview                                                     |
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For information on the controls of the game and the basics of how to play it,
see the "Playing the Game" section [8] of the game's readme.  The game itself
also gently introduces players to new game mechanics with in-game instructions.

[8] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html#PG



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|  220: Game Modes                                                            |
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There are five game modes in Plants Vs. Zombies:

Adventure   This is the primary mode, and consists of five stages of ten levels
            each.  Adventure mode must be completed to fully unlock the other
            modes.  For more information, see section 300.
Mini-Games  This consists of 20 varied mini-games, which test your speed as
            well as your strategy.  For more information, see section 400.
Puzzles     This consists of 20 levels of two puzzle modes: Vasebreaker and I,
            Zombie.  For more information, see section 500.
Survival    This consists of 11 levels spanning the five locations first seen
            in Adventure mode.  For more information, see section 600.
Zen Garden  This stress-free mode allows you to collect plants from other modes
            and earn money by growing them and keeping them happy.  For more
            information, see section 700.

See the "Game Modes" section [9] of the game's readme for more information.

[9] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html#GM



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|  230: Unlockable and For-Sale Items                                         |
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There are special codes that can be typed in during a level to enable graphical
effects in the game.  These codes have no in-game effect other than changing
the appearance of certain elements or characters and a sound effect confirming
their activation.

Code                        Effect
''''''''''''''''''''''''''  '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
pinata                      Dying Zombies give a shower of candy
trickedout                  Lawn mowers get big engines
future                      Zombies wear sunglasses
dance                       Zombies dance instead of walk across the field
sukhbir                     Zombies have a different call for brains sound
daisies                     Dying Zombies leave small daisies on the ground
mustache / moustache        Zombies get mustaches

Some items and game modes are unlocked by accomplishing certain tasks.  Here
they are with the prerequisites for each:

Item/Game Mode              Unlock Action
''''''''''''''''''''''''''  '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Shovel                      Complete Level 1-4
Suburban Almanac            Complete Level 2-4
Mini-Games (Game Mode)      Complete Level 3-2
Crazy Dave's Shop           Complete Level 3-4
Puzzles (Game Mode)         Complete Level 4-6
Yeti (Almanac Entry)        Find in Level 4-10 during 2nd playthrough
Zen Garden                  Complete Level 5-4
Survival (Game Mode)        Complete Adventure mode

Seed Packets                Complete levels in Adventure mode (the walkthrough
                            notes what seeds are awarded for each level)

Silver Trophy               Complete Adventure mode
Gold Trophy                 Complete all Mini-Games, Puzzle, and Survival
                            levels, and buy all upgrades from Crazy Dave

If you purchased your game from Steam [10], you can earn Steam achievements by
accomplishing certain tasks [11].  Achievements have no in-game effect other
than the notification that you have received them.

Steam Achievement           Unlock Action
''''''''''''''''''''''''''  '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Ask Me About Mustache Mode  Enable Mustache Mode
Better Off Dead             Get a streak of over 10 in I, Zombie Endless
China Shop                  Get to a streak of 15 in Vasebreaker Endless
Cryptozombologist           Discover the top secret zombie (Yeti)
Explodonator                Blow up 10 Zombies with a single cherry bomb
Home Lawn Security          Complete Adventure mode
Immortal                    Get to 20 flags in Survival Endless
Morticulturalist            Collect all 49 plants
Nobel Peas Prize            Get the golden sunflower trophy
Spudow!                     Blow up a zombie using a potato mine
Towering Wisdom             Grow the Tree of Wisdom to 100 feet
Walk This Way               Hypnotize the lead dancer zombie

Additionally, many items can be "unlocked" by purchasing them from Crazy Dave's
Shop.  These include seed packet upgrades, defensive items like pool cleaners,
and items for the Zen Garden.  See the readme file for a complete list [12].

[10] http://store.steampowered.com/
[11] http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/code/959255.html
[12] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html#SC/CDS



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|  240: Tips                                                                  |
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The readme file contains a list of helpful tips [13] for both general gameplay
and the Zen Garden.  Here are a few more:

o  Disregard most of the plant upgrades for the Adventure mode.  They are
   generally too expensive for the effect they will have on the game.  For
   example, use two Repeaters instead of a Gatling Pea.  While it will take
   two physical spaces instead of one, you save sun by planting more plants.
   Also, having more plants can be beneficial as they will absorb more chomping
   by Zombies.
o  Don't bother using Marigolds during the Adventure mode, when time, space,
   and sun are precious resources.  Instead, finish Adventure mode more quickly
   and use other means [14] to earn money later on.
o  Gloom-Shrooms are very powerful, and should be the first upgraded plant that
   you buy.  Once you get them, use them in all available levels.  During the
   day, use coffee beans to wake them up.  Yes, it's worth three slots!
o  The golden rule of any real time strategy game is to ramp up your resource
   production as quickly as possible while barely surviving early attacks. To
   do this, try to kill each of the early Zombies as late as possible and with
   as few attacking plants as possible.  This will mean that you are spending
   more sun on sun-producers, so that you'll have more income for the difficult
   later parts of the level.
   o  Use the rake to take out the first zombie on each level.  This allows you
      to use more early resources on sun-producers.
   o  If you don't have the extra gold to buy rakes, you can use Potato Mines,
      Tangle Kelps, and Squashes for a similar effect.  Instead of spending 100
      sun on a plant to take care of the early Zombie, you spend half that and
      free up enough sun for another Sunflower.  This is not an issue at night
      when you have free plants to provide an early defense.
o  Use Garlic to divert enemies onto other rows.  Instead of defending 5-6 rows
   on the field, you can divert them onto 3 rows.  Having less effective area
   to defend means that you can concentrate your defenses, and efficient plants
   such as Fume-shrooms and Gloom-shrooms are even more effective against large
   swarms as they hit every Zombie within range, whether there's 1 or 100.
o  It is much easier to defend the water because the most powerful enemies are
   all land-locked.  For the more difficult games such as Survival mode, you
   can group your more fragile and expensive plants, such as Cob Cannons, in
   the water.
o  There are tons of tips and techniques scattered throughout this guide too!

[13] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html#GT
[14] http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/959255/56559



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|  300: Adventure Walkthrough                                                 |
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The Adventure mode can be considered the primary mode of the game.  Here are
level descriptions and tips on completing each level.



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|  310: Stage 1 - Front Lawn, Day                                             |
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The first of five stages takes place on your front yard during the day.  The
field has a maximum size of 5 rows by 9 columns, though the first stages are
made smaller to give a gentle introduction to the game.  The field sizes will
be noted whenever they are smaller than the maximum.

This first stage is easy, but it provides a good time to learn and practice
more advanced techniques that will be required later on.  Even if you've
already beaten stage 1 in your game, skim the "The Key" lines for useful tips
and strategies.  If you don't understand those summaries, read the "Notes" for
further explanation.

The listed flag count is the number of large waves of Zombies that attack on
that level.  The first number is the number of flags the first time playing
through Adventure mode, and the second number is the number of flags on
subsequent times playing.

--- 311: Level 1-1 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Size:    1x9
  Enemies: Zombie
  Flags:   0 / 2
  Reward:  Sunflower Seed Packet

  The Key: Keep Peashooters far from the enemy.

  Notes:   Follow the tutorial tips and place your Peashooters at the far left.
           As the name implies, ranged units work best at long range, so we put
           them far away from the right edge where the Zombies spawn.  The
           Zombies are typically melee (close combat) units so this strategy
           keeps your plants safe for as long as possible.

--- 312: Level 1-2 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Size:    3x9
  Enemies: Zombie
  Flags:   1 / 2
  Reward:  Cherry Bomb Seed Packet

  The Key: Save the two leftmost rows for sun production.

  Notes:   Place 4-5 Sunflowers at the far left before the first Zombie shows
           up.  Your first Peashooter should be on the same row as that first
           Zombie and on the third column from the left.  In general, set
           aside the two left-most columns for sun-producing plants.

           Here's our first level diagram, representing the beginning of the
           game.  Each dot represents an open space on the field, and other
           symbols are explained to the right of the diagram.  After we plant
           four Sunflowers, the first Zombie appeared in the middle row.  We
           place our Peashooter in the same row and in the third column.

           S  S  .  .  .  .  .  .  .          S  Sunflowers
           S  .  P  .  .  .  .  .  Z          P  First Peashooter
           S  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .          Z  First Zombie

           Towards the end, you should flesh out the two columns of Sunflowers
           and build up two columns of Peashooters.  This will be more than
           enough firepower to take down the "flag" wave at the end.  Flags on
           the progress bar at the lower right of the screen indicate large
           groups of Zombies that attack at once.  By keeping an eye on the
           progress bar, you can better prepare your defenses for these waves.

--- 313: Level 1-3 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Size:    3x9
  Enemies: Zombie                             Conehead Zombie
  Flags:   1 / 2
  Reward:  Wall-nut Seed Packet

  The Key: Maximize your early sun production.

  Notes:   You'll only have enough time to plant 3 Sunflowers before the first
           Zombie, but try placing a fourth.  If your reflexes are fast enough,
           you'll still be able to kill the first Zombie with your first Pea-
           shooter without taking a single hit.  This goal of early resource
           production should be kept in mind on every level.

           As before, set up two columns each of Sunflowers and Peashooters.
           That should be enough to beat the level, but you may want to try a
           Cherry Bomb to see how it works.  As they have a 3x3 area of effect,
           try not to place them at the edges of the field or you'll waste some
           of their power.

--- 314: Level 1-4 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Size:    5x9
  Enemies: Zombie                             Conehead Zombie
  Flags:   1 / 2
  Reward:  Shovel

  The Key: Get used to a larger field and to laying defenses.

  Notes:   Your first defensive plant, the Wall-nut, can be used to stall more
           durable Zombies and larger groups.  As Zombies stop and gnaw at a
           Wall-nut, your Peashooters and other offense plants will have the
           time and protection they need to dispatch them.

           The strategy for this level follows that of the previous two: build
           Sunflowers, and support them with Peashooters.  Use Wall-nuts just
           in front of your Peashooters.  There, they will stop Zombie groups
           but single Zombies will be killed by the Peashooters before being
           able to damage the Wall-nuts at all.

--- 315: Level 1-5, Mini-Game: Wall-nut Bowling -------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Conehead Zombie
  Flags:   1 / 2
  Reward:  Potato Mine Seed Packet

  The Key: Kill Zombies as late as possible.

  Notes:   The fifth level of every stage is a special mini-game.  After
           teaching you how to use the shovel, Crazy Dave introduces you to the
           first: Wall-nut Bowling.

           This is also the first conveyor belt level.  Instead of being
           limited by recharge timers and sun costs, you only get to use the
           seeds that slide in on the belt.  Keep in mind that unused seeds
           stay at the left side of the belt, so you can keep some there for
           emergencies.

           Your first thought might be to kill Zombies as soon as possible, but
           it is difficult to win that way for two reasons.  First of all, by
           allowing Wall-nuts to ricochet around the field and hit multiple
           Zombies, you won't need as many Wall-nuts to kill Zombies.  Also,
           seeing what's coming up allows you to plan your resources more care-
           fully.  Instead of wasting an Explode-o-nut on two Zombies, you may
           wait a few seconds and see a larger group.

--- 316: Level 1-6 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Conehead Zombie
           Pole Vaulting Zombie
  Flags:   1 / 2
  Reward:  Snow Pea Seed Packet

  The Key: Plant Wall-nuts early, but place them carefully.

  Notes:   Pole Vaulters are easily stopped by two defensive units, but the
           recharge time on the Wall-nuts is very high, so there's no way to
           build two full columns of them before the flag.  The best bet is
           to start building them early so you can at least have one full
           column of them, and to position them to the right so that post-
           vault Zombies have some open ground to cover before reaching your
           Peashooters.  I used the following setup:

           S  S  P  P  .  .  W  .  .          S  Sunflower
           S  S  P  P  .  .  W  .  .          P  Peashooter
           S  S  P  P  .  .  W  .  .          W  Wall-nut
           S  S  P  P  .  .  W  .  .
           S  S  P  P  .  .  W  .  .

           That gives you more sun than you need towards the end of the level,
           so you may start to replace Sunflowers with more Peashooters,
           especially on rows that don't have a Wall-nut yet.  Alternately, you
           can use extra sun on Cherry Bombs.  Cherry Bombs make a good "panic
           button" by killing Zombies that get past your defenses, or those who
           get within melee range of your fragile plants.

--- 317: Level 1-7 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Conehead Zombie
           Pole Vaulting Zombie
  Flags:   2 / 3
  Reward:  Chomper Seed Packet

  The Key: Plant Wall-nuts early, but place them carefully (yes, again!)

  Notes:   The last level gave us a great plant, the Snow Pea.  By slowing down
           Zombies while also damaging them, this creates a very useful hybrid
           offense/defense plant.  Since Zombies are slowed down, we don't need
           as much space between our Wall-Nuts and our shooters.  Try to finish
           this setup before the first flag:

           S  S  P  s  P  .  W  .  .          S  Sunflower
           S  S  P  s  P  .  W  .  .          P  Peashooter
           S  S  P  s  P  .  W  .  .          W  Wall-nut
           S  S  P  s  P  .  W  .  .          s  Snow Pea
           S  S  P  s  P  .  W  .  .

--- 318: Level 1-8 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Conehead Zombie
           Pole Vaulting Zombie (?)           Buckethead Zombie
  Flags:   1 / 2
  Reward:  Repeater Seed Packet

  Plants:  Sunflower                          Chomper
           Peashooter                         Wall-nut
           Snow Pea                           Cherry Bomb

  The Key: Choose an appropriate selection of plants to fill your seed tray.

  Notes:   Starting at this level, there will be too many seed packets for the
           seed tray.  In the walkthrough, there will be a new section called
           "Plants." The notes assume that the listed plants were chosen
           for that level.

           In general, I choose a sun-producing unit (e.g. Sunflower), an early
           attack unit (Peashooter), an advanced attack unit (Snow Pea), a
           defensive unit (Wall-nut), and a "panic button" (Cherry Bomb).  Any
           remaining slots are filled with plants that are good against certain
           special Zombies for a given level, or plants I want to use for fun.

           To fully streamline your game, also consider where in the seed tray
           you place each packet.  The goal is to reduce the time and distance
           necessary to choose and then plant a certain seed, so get a feel for
           what plants you place in which columns, and position their seeds
           closer to those columns.  For example, my sun producers always go to
           the left, so I place those seeds in the left-most slot of the tray.

           This level plays out like the last one, except that you can place
           Chompers behind Wall-nuts to take care of Bucket-heads that make it
           to your front lines.  Chompers will eat Zombies that are up to two
           columns ahead, so they can reach over Wall-nuts to eat a Zombie.

           Note: In one of my profiles, this level did not have Pole Vaulters.

--- 319: Level 1-9 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Conehead Zombie
           Pole Vaulting Zombie               Buckethead Zombie
  Flags:   2 / 3
  Reward:  Zombie Note

  Plants:  Sunflower                          Repeater
           Peashooter                         Wall-nut
           Snow Pea                           Cherry Bomb

  The Key: The Repeater's good, but the Snow Pea comes first

  Notes:   An early defense relies heavily on stalling tactics while it builds
           up its resource production.  In the early parts of the game before
           there is time to plant a full column of Wall-nuts, preventing fast
           or high-toughness Zombies from reaching your plants is more
           important than raw power.  For this reason, start with a Peashooter
           in each row, and then plant a Snow Pea before planting Repeaters.

           This can be played the same way as the last two levels, but you can
           replace Peashooters with Repeaters towards the late game if you have
           extra sun.

--- 31F: Level 1-10, Conveyor Belt Level --------------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Conehead Zombie
           Pole Vaulting Zombie               Buckethead Zombie
  Flags:   2 / 2
  Reward:  Puff-shroom Seed Packet

  Plants:  All plants except for Sunflower

  The Key: Plan your setup before planting, even for the conveyor belt levels!

  Notes:   The last level of each stage is a conveyor belt level.  Instead of
           placing plants based on recharge timers and sun costs, seed packets
           slide in on a conveyor belt and collect at the left.  You can keep
           "panic buttons" such as Cherry Bombs on the belt indefinitely while
           you place permanent plants such as Peashooters on the ground.

           Just like before, you can see how the Zombies spawn and what plants
           you get before you start planting.  The more you wait, the more you
           will know and the better you'll be able to plan your first moves.
           Plant your assorted Peashooters in columns 1-4, your Potato Mines
           and Chompers in column 5, and Wall-nuts in column 6.  To prepare for
           the second flag, replace normal Peashooters with extra Repeaters.

           Towards the end of conveyor levels, sometimes the seed tray has
           extras of plants such as Peashooters when you've moved to Repeaters.
           While keeping an extra on hand can be useful to rebuild after an
           attack, these extras are usually useless.  Simply plant them towards
           the right as ablative armor [15].  The point is to make room for
           more relevant seeds, and to stall the Zombies a little.

[15] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ablative_armor



,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
|  320: Stage 2 - Front Lawn, Night                                           |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'

This stage is still in the front yard, but night has fallen so there will be no
sun falling from the sky.  This limits your early expansion rate.

Since it is the front yard, levels are still 5x9 in size, but there are now
gravestones in the yard.  You cannot plant on graves, and Zombies will spawn
from them during the final wave in each level.  The level descriptions below
note which columns will have gravestones at the start of the level.

On most of these levels, you will want to start out by planting Puff-shrooms as
your early attacking plant.  Since these are low-range, you'll eventually want
to place long-range support plants behind them.  For this reason, we'll break
the "attackers at the left" rule and plant the first Puff-shrooms in columns 4
or 5 depending on the situation.

Lastly, Zombies will occasionally drop coins when destroyed, starting in this
stage.  Silver coins are worth $10, and gold coins are worth $50.  Quickly pick
up dropped coins by clicking on them before they disappear.  The rest of the
guide assumes that you are collecting money, as it will be used later on to buy
important upgrades and items.

--- 321: Level 2-1 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Graves:  Columns 7-9
  Enemies: Zombie                             Newspaper Zombie
  Flags:   1 / 2
  Reward:  Sun-shroom Seed Packet

  Plants:  Sunflower                          Snow Pea
           Puff-shroom                        Cherry Bomb
           Repeater                           Wall-nut

  The Key: Plant Puff-shrooms relentlessly.

  Notes:   In the last stage, I recommended that you wait until the first
           Zombie appears before placing your first attacking plant.  However,
           since Puff-shrooms are free, you are only limited by the recharge
           timer.  To make your force as strong as possible, you'll want to
           start planting them right away and keep planting them whenever
           possible.

           Instead of placing my first Puff-shrooms in column 3 like I usually
           do for attackers, I place them in column 4.  This is because I
           expect to place some Snow Peas to slow down Zombies, and Snow Peas
           have long range and can fire from the back, whereas Puff-shrooms
           have a range of 3.  This will be true for most of stage 2: start
           your Puff-shrooms further to the right and place long-range support
           between them and the Sun-shrooms.  Target the following setup:

           S  S  s  P  P  W  .  .  .          S  Sun-producing plant
           S  S  s  P  P  W  .  .  .          s  Snow Pea
           S  S  s  P  P  W  .  .  .          P  Puff-Shroom
           S  S  s  P  P  W  .  .  .          W  Wall-nut
           S  S  s  P  P  W  .  .  .

           If there were any more Puff-shrooms, they couldn't shoot far enough
           to get past the Wall-nuts and to the Zombies anyway, so we only use
           two columns' worth.

           Reality check: It is probably possible to complete this level with
           nothing but two or three columns of Puff-shrooms.  The point of
           discussing and practicing more advanced tactics, as always, is to
           prepare for the harder levels to come.

--- 322: Level 2-2 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Graves:  Columns 7-9
  Enemies: Zombie                             Newspaper Zombie
           Conehead Zombie                    Buckethead Zombie
  Flags:   2 / 3
  Reward:  Fume-shroom Seed Packet

  Plants:  Sun-shroom                         Snow Pea
           Puff-shroom                        Cherry Bomb
           Repeater                           Wall-nut

  The Key: Decide on Sun-shrooms or Sunflowers; I prefer the Sun-shrooms.

  Notes:   I use Sun-shrooms for Adventure mode but not because they produce
           sun more quickly. Both sun-producers can end up completing the level
           2-1 setup above in three minutes and fifty seconds, at which time
           the Sun-shrooms will all be matured (so future production would be
           comparable to Sunflowers).  However, the tenth Sun-shroom can be
           planted at around 1:30 versus 2:20 for the tenth Sunflower.  Getting
           your resource production squared away earlier is desirable as you'll
           be able to concentrate your attention on your front lines sooner.

           Additionally, you're at the mercy of a single random source when
           using Sunflowers.  Having additional sun producers smooths out the
           curve, so you'll be able to better anticipate your income and build
           up more consistently.

           The counterargument is that during Survival game modes, upgrading to
           Twin Sunflowers costs more if you start with Sun-shrooms.  If you're
           expecting to upgrade to Twin Sunflowers in Survival mode, definitely
           use only Sunflowers even on night levels.

           Anyway, back to the task at hand.  Start with the setup shown above
           for level 2-1 with a Snow Pea, two Puff-shrooms, and a Wall-nut in 
           each row.  To prepare for the last wave, gradually replace the Puff-
           shrooms with Repeaters.

--- 323: Level 2-3 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Graves:  Columns 7-9
  Enemies: Zombie                             Screen Door Zombie
           Conehead Zombie
  Flags:   1 / 2
  Reward:  Grave Buster Seed Packet

  Plants:  Sun-shroom                         Snow Pea
           Puff-shroom                        Cherry Bomb
           Fume-shroom                        Wall-nut

  The Key: Piercing attacks are great against swarms.

  Notes:   You've probably noticed that when several Zombies spawn at once in a
           single row, the lead Zombie will absorb all the damage allowing its
           followers to arrive at your plants at full health.  Fume-shrooms and
           other plants with "piercing attacks" negate this tactic by damaging
           all Zombies in a group at once.  Their damage output actually goes
           up when they're attacking bigger groups!  They also nullify screen
           doors.  The one disadvantage is their limited range of 4 spaces.

           Again, start with the setup from level 2-1 but plant Fume-shrooms in
           place of Snow Peas.   As funds permit, start replacing Puff-shrooms
           with more Fume-shrooms, for a final setup similar to the following:

           S  S  F  F  F  W  .  .  .          S  Sun-shroom
           S  S  F  F  F  W  .  .  .          F  Fume-shroom
           S  S  F  F  F  W  .  .  .          W  Wall-nut
           S  S  F  F  F  W  .  .  .
           S  S  F  F  F  W  .  .  .

--- 324: Level 2-4 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Graves:  Columns 6-9
  Enemies: Zombie                             Screen Door Zombie
           Conehead Zombie                    Pole Vaulting Zombie
  Flags:   2 / 3
  Reward:  The Suburban Almanac

  Plants:  Sun-shroom                         Grave Buster
           Puff-shroom                        Cherry Bomb
           Fume-shroom                        Wall-nut
           Snow Pea

  The Key: Use the Grave Buster to expand the buildable area.

  Notes:   You have probably noticed that each unused lawnmower is worth $50 at
           the end of a level, so you can earn $250 just for finishing a level
           without letting Zombies get to the left side.  Between lawnmowers
           and collected coins, you should have $750 by this point, so buy the
           7th slot in your seed tray from Crazy  Dave.  You don't really need
           it for this level, but there's no other need for cash so you might
           as well get it now.

           Our new plant is the Grave Buster, which eats graves.  Note that the
           Zombies can attack the Grave Buster while it's working, so make sure
           the coast is clear before you use one.  By the end of each level,
           try to make sure that all the Graves have been destroyed because a
           Zombie will rise from each grave for the final wave.

           This level sees the return of the Pole Vaulting Zombie, so again we
           need to push the Wall-nuts out to the right to give our attacking
           plants some breathing room.  Unfortunately, graves are starting to
           spawn closer to our house, so we'll need to use the Grave Buster to
           chew them away.  Start with Puff-shrooms in columns 4-6, and replace
           the ones to the left with Fume-shrooms.  Column 6 Puff-shrooms
           remain as cannon fodder for Pole Vaulters. The final setup is:

           S  S  s  F  F  P  W  .  .          S  Sun-shroom
           S  S  s  F  F  P  W  .  .          s  Snow Pea
           S  S  s  F  F  P  W  .  .          F  Fume-shroom
           S  S  s  F  F  P  W  .  .          P  Puff-shroom
           S  S  s  F  F  P  W  .  .          W  Wall-nut

--- 325: Level 2-5, Mini-Game: Whack a Zombie ---------------------------------

  Graves:  Columns 4-9
  Enemies: Zombie                             Buckethead Zombie
           Conehead Zombie
  Flags:   1 / 1
  Reward:  Hypno-shroom Seed Packet

  Plants:  Grave Buster                       Potato Mine
           Cherry Bomb

  The Key: Use the Grave Buster to push back the spawn area.

  Notes:   There's not much to it.  Just click Zombies like mad, and use the
           Grave Buster whenever you have 75 sun to destroy the left-most
           Graves, working your way to the right.

           Alternately, destroy graves in rows with the least number of graves.
           The goal of this alternate strategy is to be left with graves in 2-3
           rows, preferably adjacent rows, so Zombies spawn closer together and
           can be killed with less movement of the mouse pointer.

--- 326: Level 2-6 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Graves:  Columns 6-9
  Enemies: Zombie                             Football Zombie
           Conehead Zombie
  Flags:   1 / 2
  Reward:  Scardey-shroom Seed Packet

  Plants:  Sun-shroom                         Grave Buster
           Puff-shroom                        Cherry Bomb
           Fume-shroom                        Wall-nut
           Hypno-shroom

  The Key: Use Hypno-shrooms on Football Zombies

  Notes:   Start as normal, except you may want to use Hypno-shrooms now and
           then to get rid of tougher enemies.  Converted Zombies fight for you
           and may destroy several other Zombies before dying.  Since this is a
           short (1-flag) level, you won't have time to set up a full defense.
           My final setup looked like this:

           S  S  .  F  P  W  .  .  .          S  Sun-shroom
           S  S  .  F  P  W  .  .  .          F  Fume-shroom
           S  S  .  F  P  W  .  .  .          P  Puff-shroom
           S  S  .  F  P  W  .  .  .          W  Wall-nut
           S  S  .  F  P  W  .  .  .

--- 327: Level 2-7 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Graves:  Columns 5-9
  Enemies: Zombie                             Football Zombie
           Conehead Zombie                    Screen Door Zombie
  Flags:   2 / 3
  Reward:  Ice-Shroom Seed Packet

  Plants:  Sun-shroom                         Grave Buster
           Puff-shroom                        Cherry Bomb
           Fume-shroom                        Wall-nut
           Hypno-shroom

  The Key: Plant a bunch of Fume-shrooms, just like level 2-3

  Notes:   I don't use Scardey-shrooms because every niche is already filled by
           a better choice.  As an early attacker, the Puff-shroom's zero cost
           makes it superior in spite of its lower range.  In the late game,
           the Fume-shroom's piercing attack makes it superior.  As a last-
           ditch defense, the Scardey- shroom is useless because it hides.

           Since there aren't any Pole Vaulters we need to slow down, we will
           just plant 3 columns of Fume-shrooms behind Wall-nuts.  Footballers
           can be met with a Hypno-shroom, or let them die from Fume-shrooms.

--- 328: Level 2-8 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Graves:  Columns 6-9
  Enemies: Zombie                             Dancing Zombie
           Conehead Zombie
  Flags:   1 / 2
  Reward:  Doom-shroom Seed Packet

  Plants:  Sun-shroom                         Grave Buster
           Puff-shroom                        Cherry Bomb
           Fume-shroom                        Wall-nut
           Hypno-shroom

  The Key: Hypnotize the lead dancers

  Notes:   Here we have Dancing Zombies that raise Backup Dancers from the
           ground.  By Hypnotizing the leaders, you can get a whole army on
           your side for only 75 sun!  Other than that, it's level 2-3 again.

--- 329: Level 2-9 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Graves:  Columns 5-9
  Enemies: Zombie                             Dancing Zombie
           Conehead Zombie                    Screen Door Zombie
  Flags:   2 / 3
  Reward:  Zombie Note

  Plants:  Sun-shroom                         Grave Buster
           Puff-shroom                        Cherry Bomb
           Fume-shroom                        Wall-nut
           Hypno-shroom

  The Key: Business as usual for stage 2

  Notes:   Since this is a two-flag stage, there will be plenty of resources
           for 3 full columns of Fume-shrooms (shown above in level 2-3).

--- 32F: Level 2-10, Conveyor Belt Level --------------------------------------

  Graves:  Columns 4-9
  Enemies: Zombie                             Dancing Zombie
           Conehead Zombie                    Screen Door Zombie
           Newspaper Zombie                   Football Zombie
  Flags:   2 / 2
  Reward:  Lily Pad Seed Packet

  Plants:  Puff-shroom                        Grave Buster
           Fume-shroom                        Hypno-shroom
           Scardey-shroom                     Ice-shroom
           Doom-shroom

  The Key: As in all conveyor belt levels, save your bombs for emergencies!

  Notes:   I started with Puff-shrooms in column 5, then put Scardey-shrooms
           in columns 1-2 and Fume-shrooms in columns 3-4.  This level is not
           very difficult as you have Doom-shrooms and Hypno-shrooms to handle
           the otherwise dangerous Football and Dancing Zombies.



,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
|  330: Stage 3 - Back Yard, Pool                                             |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'

It's daytime again, and the Zombies are attacking your back yard.  The levels
consist of four rows of nine spaces on land, and two rows of nine spaces in the
pool.  Two points to be careful about:

1) Lawnmowers can't clear away Zombies that make it to the left side of the
   pool, so be sure to defend the water carefully.  That said, Zombies don't
   usually try to enter the water until it's almost to the first flag, so you
   have more time to set up defenses there.
2) Mushrooms fall asleep during the day, so avoid them for now.
3) Levels in stage 3 have hidden, sunken Zombies that resurface in columns 6-9
   during the last wave.  Don't concentrate your water defenses ahead of column
   6 or Zombies will pop up behind your defenses and have a straight shot to
   the house.  A basic water defense therefore places Wall-nuts in column 6.

--- 331: Level 3-1 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Ducky Tube Zombie
           Conehead Zombie
  Flags:   1 / 2
  Reward:  Squash Seed Packet

  Plants:  Sunflower                          Snow Pea
           Lily Pad                           Wall-nut
           Peashooter                         Cherry Bomb
           Repeater

  The Key: Plant 8 Sunflowers on land first, then 4 in the water

  Notes:   As we talked about above in stage 1, it's important to maximize your
           early resource production.  This means that we defer non-essential
           building as long as possible, so we'll put Sunflowers on land before
           building Lily Pads for Sunflowers in the water.

           After the night stage, let's review a normal daytime build order.
           We should try to get 4 Sunflowers on the field before our first Pea-
           shooter, and have 6 Sunflowers before our second Peashooter.  If
           luck brings faster sun production or the first two Zombies in the
           same row, you can plant more Sunflowers even sooner!

           Treat this like the levels in stage 1: start with Peashooters, build
           up Wall-nuts, and fortify with Repeaters and Snow Peas.

--- 332: Level 3-2 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Ducky Tube Zombie
           Conehead Zombie                    Newspaper Zombie
           Buckethead Zombie                  Football Zombie
  Flags:   2 / ?
  Reward:  Threepeater Seed Packet and Mini-Games mode

  Plants:  Sunflower                          Snow Pea
           Lily Pad                           Wall-nut
           Peashooter                         Squash
           Repeater

  The Key: Learn how to effectively use the Squash

  Notes:   Play it like level 3-1, but put Squashes behind Wall-nuts to destroy
           the Footballers and Bucketheads that make it to your front lines.
           Note that the defenses in the water don't have to be as powerful
           because only a few types of enemies can swim.

           The Squash can act like a panic button to kill Zombies that make it
           to the left, but it only costs 50.  Compared to the Potato Mine, it
           doesn't need to charge itself up and detects enemies to the left or
           right instead of being passive.

--- 333: Level 3-3 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Ducky Tube Zombie
           Conehead Zombie                    Snorkel Zombie
  Flags:   2 / ?
  Reward:  Tangle Kelp Seed Packet

  Plants:  Sunflower                          Snow Pea
           Lily Pad                           Wall-nut
           Peashooter                         Cherry Bomb
           Repeater

  The Key: The Threepeater trades sun and tempo for space

  Notes:   Planting a Repeater in each row gives a solid 2-pea defense.  On the
           other hand, you could plant just 4 Threepeaters.  This method costs
           50 more sun after Lily Pad costs, but takes 2 fewer spaces on the
           field.  Unfortunately, you pay for Threepeaters in larger chunks of
           sun, which leaves you vulnerable at the beginning.  Since space is
           not usually a problem in Adventure mode, you're better off staying
           with the Repeater.

           Again, this level is mostly like level 3-1.  The Wall-nuts in the
           water will take more damage here because the Snorkel Zombies will
           attack them at full health.  We choose the Cherry Bomb over the
           Squash or Potato Mine because it alone can kill Snorkeling Zombies.

--- 334: Level 3-4 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Ducky Tube Zombie
           Conehead Zombie                    Snorkel Zombie
           Buckethead Zombie                  Pole Vaulting Zombie
           Newspaper Zombie
  Flags:   3 / ?
  Reward:  Crazy Dave's Car Key

  Plants:  Sunflower                          Snow Pea
           Lily Pad                           Wall-nut
           Peashooter                         Tangle Kelp
           Repeater

  The Key: Tangle Kelps provide an early water defense.

  Notes:   In the water, we only have columns 3-5 for attacking plants.  We've
           Sunflowers in columns 1-2 and Wall-nuts in column 6 to catch all
           resurfacing Zombies.  To make the most of the water defense, we'll
           use only Snow Peas and Repeaters there.  Unfortunately, these take
           more sun to plant, so we'll use Tangle Kelps to provide an early
           defense until we can get the permanent solutions up.  This is a long
           level with three flags.  Try to have a solid column of Wall-nuts up
           for the first.  By the end, have something like the following.  As
           with level diagrams before, dots (.) represent open spaces on land.
           Now, underscores (_) represent open spaces in the water.

           S  S  P  R  s  R  W  W  .          S  Sunflower
           S  S  P  R  s  R  W  W  .          P  Peashooter
           S  S  R  s  R  W  _  _  _          F  Fume-shroom
           S  S  R  s  R  W  _  _  _          P  Puff-shroom
           S  S  P  R  s  R  W  W  .          W  Wall-nut
           S  S  P  R  s  R  W  W  .

           Double Wall-nuts on land protect against Pole Vaulters, and those in
           column 6 protect against resurfacing Zombies in the water.  As in
           other examples, the specific defenses can be modified.  For example,
           the early-game Peashooters on land can become more Repeaters.

--- 335: Level 3-5, Mini-Game: Big Trouble Little Zombie  ---------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Ducky Tube Zombie
           Conehead Zombie                    Snorkel Zombie
           Football Zombie
  Flags:   2 / ?
  Reward:  Jalapeno Seed Packet

  Plants:  Peashooter                         Wall-nut
           Lily Pad                           Cherry Bomb

  The Key: At Crazy Dave's shop, first buy what's useful for Adventure mode.

  Notes:   When Crazy Dave's shop first opens, the inventory is as follows:
             8 Slot Seed Tray   $5000
             Pool Cleaners      $1000
             Garden Rake        $ 200
             Gatling Pea        $5000
             Twin Sunflower     $5000
           From the tips section, we know that most plant upgrades aren't very
           useful in Adventure mode, so we'll skip the last two.  With this
           guide, you shouldn't need the Pool Cleaners or Garden Rake to get
           through the levels, so that leaves the 8-slot upgrade.  Having more
           slots is very useful in Adventure mode though.  We should be nearing
           $5000 in the bank, so we'll buy this upgrade this round or next.

           As for the level itself, we'll put Peashooters at the left, building
           towards the right.  Wall-nuts will be planted in column 6 so we can
           place Cherry Bombs in column 8 and rows 2 or 4 to maximize damage.

--- 336: Level 3-6 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Ducky Tube Zombie
           Conehead Zombie                    Zomboni
  Flags:   2 / ?
  Reward:  Spikeweed Seed Packet

  Plants:  Sunflower                          Peashooter
           Lily Pad                           Snow Pea
           Wall-nut                           Repeater
           Jalapeno                           Squash

  The Key: Fire melts ice.  And Zombies too!

  Notes:   If you haven't bought the 8-slot upgrade yet, do so now.  We see
           that the 9-slot upgrade costs $20,000.  Yikes!  Anyway, select your
           plants and let's get going.

           During this level, Zombonis will slowly roll across the field, with
           three problems.  First of all, Zombonis instantly squish any plants
           they reach, including Wall-nuts.  Secondly, they leave a trail of
           ice behind them that cannot be planted on.  Lastly, Zombie Bobsled
           Teams will slide in on the ice.  Thankfully, Jalapenos can be used
           at any point to get rid of a Zomboni and its ice trail, or a Bobsled
           Team and the ice it's on.

           It takes many peas to kill a Zomboni, but a single "massive damage"
           plant such as a Potato Mine, Cherry Bomb, Jalapeno, or Squash will
           do it quickly, preventing the Zomboni from leaving a lot of ice
           behind.  For that reason, we use two such plants to make sure that
           Zombonis don't get far.

--- 337: Level 3-7 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Ducky Tube Zombie
           Conehead Zombie                    Snorkel Zombie
           Buckethead Zombie                  Zomboni
  Flags:   3 / ?
  Reward:  Torchwood Seed Packet

  Plants:  Sunflower                          Peashooter
           Lily Pad                           Snow Pea
           Wall-nut                           Repeater
           Jalapeno                           Spikeweed

  The Key: Spikeweed et. al. will be useful 'til the end.

  Notes:   This time, there are three flags but Zombonis don't appear until the
           second flag.  Target the following build, replacing your early Pea-
           shooters with Repeaters.

           S  S  R  s  R  .  W  w  w          S  Sunflower
           S  S  R  s  R  .  W  w  w          R  Repeater
           S  S  R  s  R  W  _  _  _          s  Snow Pea
           S  S  R  s  R  W  _  _  _          W  Wall-nut
           S  S  R  s  R  .  W  w  w          w  Spikeweed
           S  S  R  s  R  .  W  w  w

--- 338: Level 3-8 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Ducky Tube Zombie
           Conehead Zombie                    Dolphin Rider Zombie
  Flags:   2 / ?
  Reward:  Tall-nut Seed Packet

  Plants:  Sunflower                          Peashooter
           Lily Pad                           Repeater
           Wall-nut                           Torchwood
           Cherry Bomb                        [-- open slot --]

  The Key: Learn when to plant Torchwoods, and remember that fire melts ice.

  Notes:   Remember The Key to the last level?  Well, Spikeweeds and such are
           most useful against vehicles, which we don't have in this level.
           That said, you could certainly put them in the 8th slot of your seed
           tray if you wish, but I suggest another one-shot plant such as a
           Squash or Tangle Kelp.

           Torchwoods are great for increasing your damage and dealing with big
           swarms.  While the explosive fireballs do some splash damage, the
           range is much lower than the range of a Fume-shroom so the power-
           doubling feature is more significant.  The only downside is that it
           melts Snow Peas, so we won't use Snow Peas and Torchwoods together.

           Torchwoods effectively double the output of each Pea plant for 175
           Sun, so plant them when a row has two or more peas.  For example, a
           row with a Repeater already has two peas of attack power.  This
           could be doubled with another Repeater for 200 Sun, but a better way
           would be to use a Repeater for 25 less sun, and get splash damage in
           the deal.  On the other hand, a row with a single Peashooter has one
           pea of attack power.  You could spend 175 on a Torchwood to double
           that, or spend 200 sun and triple that row's attack power.

--- 339: Level 3-9 ------------------------------------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Ducky Tube Zombie
           Conehead Zombie                    Dolphin Rider Zombie
           Buckethead Zombie                  Pole Vaulting Zombie
           Zomboni
  Flags:   3 / ?
  Reward:  Zombie Note

  Plants:  Sunflower                          Peashooter
           Lily Pad                           Repeater
           Tall-nut                           Torchwood
           Jalapeno                           Spikeweed

  The Key: Tall-nuts stop vaulters, so you can bring in the front lines.

  Notes:   A common initial thought is to keep the Tall-nuts out to the right,
           but this results in a lot of damage to them because Zombies get to
           them more quickly.  By keeping the Tall-nuts back towards the left,
           our peas will kill individual Zombies before they start chewing on
           the Tall-nuts.  In this way, Tall-nuts are actually a second line of
           defense after our Pea plants even though they are farther to the
           right.  The result of this train of thought is that Tall-nuts take
           less damage and have to be replaced less often, which is useful as
           their recharge timer is so long.

           As you build up your Sunflowers and initial Peashooters, start
           planting Tall-nuts as soon as possible.  They have a slow recharge
           timer, so you'll have to start early to have as many as possible
           up before the first flag.  For the last flag, I had two columns of
           Sunflowers, two of Repeaters, one of Torchwoods, and one of Tall-
           nuts all flush to the left, with some Spikeweed out front.

--- 33F: Level 3-10, Conveyor Belt Level --------------------------------------

  Enemies: Zombie                             Ducky Tube Zombie
           Conehead Zombie                    Snorkel Zombie
           Buckethead Zombie                  Dolphin Rider Zombie
           Zomboni
  Flags:   3 / ?
  Reward:  Sea-shroom Seed Packet

  Plants:  Threepeater                        Spikeweed
           Lily Pad                           Squash
           Torchwood                          Jalapeno
           Tall-nut                           Tangle Kelp

  The Key: Plan out your Lily Pad use, as there are few in the late-game.

  Notes:   Lily Pads drop more often before the first flag, so use those early
           Pads to set up your final water defenses.  After the first flag, you
           will see fewer Lily Pads, so be sure to get Tall-nuts up to block
           Dolphin Riders.  Our primary attacker in this game is the Three-
           peater, which should be placed in rows 2-5 to maximize their power.
           My final build looked like this:

           .  .  .  .  Y  T  .  .  w          w  Spikeweed
           3  3  3  3  Y  T  .  .  w          3  Threepeater
           _  _  3  3  Y  T  _  _  _          Y  Torchwood
           _  _  3  3  Y  T  _  _  _          T  Tall-nut
           3  3  3  3  Y  T  .  .  w
           .  .  .  .  Y  T  .  .  w

           Threepeaters with Torchwoods should be enough to keep walkers and
           swimmers at bay, so you can save your Squash and Jalapenos for
           Zombonis and emergencies.

           As a reminder, plant those extra Torchwoods, Lily Pads, etc. towards
           the end of the level just to clear out the seed tray for more useful
           plants.



,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
|  340: Stage 4 - Back Yard, Pool and Fog                                     |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'

,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
|  350: Stage 5 - Roof                                                        |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'

--- 35F: Level 5-10, Conveyor Belt Level --------------------------------------

Size:    
Reward:  Silver Trophy
Plants:  Flower Pot                           Jalapeno
         Kernel-pult                          Ice-shroom
         Cabbage-pult
         Melon-pult
Enemies: 

Notes:   This is a boss fight against the leader of the Zombies.  The level
         completion meter at the bottom of the screen tracks the damage dealt
         to the boss rather than time elapsed or Zombies spawned.

         The boss has several attacks, which will be discussed separately.

         First, the boss can place Zombies on the surface of the roof to attack
         you as in previous levels.  To defend against these, you'll place
         plants as normal.

         Next, the boss can duck down to generate a fireball or snowball from
         his mouth.  These projectiles will roll down the roof and destroy
         everything in their path, including roof cleaners if you've purchased
         them from Crazy Dave.  To destroy a snowball, place a Jalapeno on the
         same row.  To destroy a fireball, place a Ice-Shroom anywhere on
         the screen.

         If you build on the flat portion of the roof (columns 6-9) the boss
         will step on your plants.  Especially since you want to have an empty
         pot on each row to deal with incoming snowballs, this limits your
         building to 4 plants per row.  Of course, if you have a surplus of
         pots and plants in the seed tray, you can certainly plant on the flat
         portion.  Even if they fire once, it's better than sitting in your
         seed tray doing nothing.

         The last attack is a bus that the boss will smash down on your plants,
         instantly destroying a 3 column by 2 row area.  I haven't found a
         defense against this attack, except to spread out your plants out to
         minimize losses.  It is especially important to spread the high-damage
         Melon-Pults far apart so you don't lose many of them at once.

         Your only chance to damage the boss comes when he ducks down to spit
         out a fireball or snowball.  To maximize the damage, once he generates
         the projectile use the Jalapeno or Ice-Shroom right away to freeze
         or damage him and any Zombies, and also get rid of the projectile.  By
         freezing the boss, you'll give your plants more time to shoot him.



,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
|  400: Mini-Games Walkthrough                                                |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'

--- 401: ZomBotany ------------------------------------------------------------



--- 402: Wall-nut Bowling -----------------------------------------------------

This is just like level 1-5 of the Adventure but more difficult because more
Zombies will spawn, especially towards the end.  Therefore, the strategies used
on that level will be all the more important here.  In short, wait until the
Zombies are far to the left to maximize the hits for each Wall-nut, and save
the Explode-o-nuts for tight packs of Zombies three rows tall to maximize the
effectiveness of the blast radius.

--- 403: Slot Machine ---------------------------------------------------------

You're dependent on the slot machine to get 

--- 404: It's Raining Seeds
--- 405: Beghouled
--- 406: Invisi-ghoul ---------------------------------------------------------
--- 407: Seeing Stars ---------------------------------------------------------

You can generally follow the Gloom-shroom and Garlic plan to get through this
level.  Once you've stabilized, start planting Star Fruit to finish the level.

--- 408: Zombiquarium
--- 409: Beghouled Twist ------------------------------------------------------

This Mini-Game is a Plants vs. Zombies take on Popcap's puzzle game Bejeweled
Twist.  The goal is to rotate 2x2 squares of four spaces to create matches
(three or more adjacent columns or rows of the same plant).  You need to make
75 such matches to complete the level.  As you match up the plants, you'll earn
sun which can be spent to rearrange plants or upgrade your plants.

The challenge here is that it's more difficult to see possible matches when
rotating blocks than when sliding them.  To help, here are the four situations
(each of which can be in 4 rotated orientations).  Keep an eye out for these
patterns for an easier time.

                  |                  |                   |
  .o    -->  ..   |   .o   -->   ..  |  .o    -->  ..    |  o.oo  -->  .ooo
  .oo        ooo  |  o.o        ooo  |  ..oo       .ooo  |  ..         ..
                  |                  |                   |

--- 410: Big Trouble Little Zombie
--- 411: Portal Combat
--- 412: Column Like You See 'Em
--- 413: Bobsled Bonanza

Use Squashes to destroy Zombonis as you build up your resources.  Try to use
Jalapenos to kill Bobsledders and melt the ice simultaneously.  After every
Jalapeno, place a Spikerock to prevent Zombonis from bothering you in that row
for a long time.  Once you have four Spikerocks at the very right, the level
becomes much easier.  I used Kernel-Pults as my main offensive unit to slow
down attackers.

--- 414: Zombie Nimble Zombie Quick
--- 415: Whack a Zombie
--- 416: Last Stand

This level is often used for gold farming.  For more information, see my Gold
Farming Guide [16].  It contains a lot of theory behind my chosen setup, but if
you just want the quick answer, here's a good 30-Marigold setup:

         M  M  M  M [M] .  .  .  .   Symbol Legend
         M  M  M  M  U  G  G [G] g     .  Open Land      U  Gold Magnet
         M  M  M  M [M][M] _  _  _     _  Open Water     M  Marigold
         M  M  M  M [M][M] _  _  _     G  Gloom-shroom
         M  M  M  M  U  G  G [G] g     g  Garlic
         M  M  M  M [M] .  .  .  .    [ ] Pumpkin

[16] http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/959255/56559

--- 417: Zombotany 2

Use the gloomshroom plan again (see above).

--- 418: Wall-nut Bowling 2

Giant Wall-nuts are good at taking out long strings of Zombies.  That ability
makes this even easier than the first Wall-nut Bowling.  Mentally split up the
attackers into loners, long rows, and tight clumps.  Hit the clumps with
Explode-o-nuts, the long rows with the Giant Wall-Nuts, and the stragglers with
normal Wall-nuts.  Only drop Explode-o-nuts in rows 2-4 so you don't waste the
3x3 blast radius.

--- 419: Pogo Party

sunflower, pot, squash, squash copy, magnet, bean, wall, corn pult, jalapeno

Start building two rows of sunflowers.  Sse squash to kill the first few pogos
as you build up funds. when you get 200, create a magnet in the front middle,
and soon after create a wallnut in front of it.  A single magnet will take care
of all the pogo sticks until the first flag, so you have some time to set up
Kernel-Pults and Wall-nuts to kill the grounded Pogos.

By the second flag, I started replacing wallnuts with tallnuts, though that is
an optional step.  By the last flag, you should chop down a row of sunflowers
to make room for a fourth row of Kernel-Pults, and have 6 magnets up front.

  Mid-Game
         S  S  P  P  .  .  W  .  .                Symbol Legend
         S  S  P  P  .  .  W  .  .                  .  Open Land
         S  S  P  P  .  M  M  W  .                  S  Sunflower
         S  S  P  P  .  .  W  .  .                  P  Kernel Pult
         S  S  P  P  .  .  W  .  .                  M  Magnet
                                                    W  Wallnut/Tallnut
  Final
         S  P  P  P  P  M  W  .  .
         S  P  P  P  P  M  W  .  .
         S  P  P  P  P  M  M  W  .
         S  P  P  P  P  M  W  .  .
         S  P  P  P  P  M  W  .  .

--- 420: Dr. Zomboss's Revenge

This is a repeat of the last level of the Adventure Mode, so use the same
strategies as outlined in section 250.



,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
|  500: Puzzles Walkthrough                                                   |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'

--- Vasebreaker

--- I, Zombie





,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
|  600: Survival Walkthrough                                                  |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'

There are 11 levels in the Survival Game Mode.  First, there's a normal-
difficulty level in each location (day, night, pool, fog, and roof) with five
flags to survive.  Then there's a hard level in each location with ten flags.
Finally, there's an unlimited level which takes place in the pool location and
keeps increasing in difficulty until you lose.

My strategy for each level is exactly the same.  For the theory behind a good
initial defense, see section 400 of my Plants Vs Zombies Gold Farming Guide
[17].  Since the Survival levels are more difficult than Last Stand, we'll need
to make a few changes.  First of all, we'll need to move the front lines back
to make room for a column of Spikerock.  For additional security, we'll add two
more Gloom-shrooms.  Lastly, we'll need to set up some heavy artillery on the
left side of the field instead of a Marigold farm.  This results in four major
groups of defenses:

1) Winter Melons keep Zombies on the Spikerocks longer while doing heavy splash
   damage.  Spikerocks also hinder Gargantuars and stop vehicles.
2) Garlic and Gloom-shroom defense kills nearly anything else.
3) Magnet-shrooms grab Pogo sticks, Jack-in-the-boxes, and mining picks.
4) Cob cannons help destroy Gargantuars and other dangerous threats.

[17] http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/959255/56559

The following is written primarily for the hard and unlimited levels.  The
strategy is the same for the normal difficulty levels as well, but you'll be
building slower, so you'll only get to the third stage or so.

--- 610: First Stage (Flags 1-2) ----------------------------------------------

For the first stage, choose Sunflower, Kernel-pult, Fume-shroom, Gloom-shroom,
Pumpkin, Garlic, and Spikeweed.  A few slots are intentionally empty as you'll
need other plants depending on the level (see section 740).

Build Sunflowers and Kernel-pults (Puff-shrooms on night levels), and try to
set up Garlic to redirect Zombies soon.  As soon as possible, start setting up
Gloom-shrooms.  You want to have a pair up by the first flag, and three pairs
up by the second flag.  The limiting factor will be the recharge timer on the
Gloom-shroom, so start early!

Goals:

  Destroy any gravestones
  Set up a column of Spikeweed
  Set up a 6x Gloom-shroom defense
  Set up two columns of Sunflowers
  Set up Pumpkin protection on all rows

Sample build:

         S  S  c  . [.] .  .  .  #   Symbol Legend
         S  S  c  .  G  G [G] g  #     .  Open Land      G  Gloom-shroom
         S  S  c  _ [.] _  _  _  _     _  Open Water     g  Garlic
         S  S  c  _ [.] _  _  _  _     S  Sunflower      #  Spikeweed
         S  S  c  .  G  G [G] g  #     c  kernel-pult
         S  S  c  . [.] .  .  .  #    [ ] Pumpkin

--- 620: Second Stage (Flags 3-4)  --------------------------------------------

For this stage, choose Twin Sunflower, Kernel-pult, Melon-pult, Winter Melon,
Magnet-shroom, Spikerock, Pumpkin, Garlic, and whatever else is needed.  If you
didn't get 6 Gloom-shrooms or a full column of Spikeweeds yet, you'll have to
work on those goals first.

Goals:

  Upgrade to a column of Spikerock
  Upgrade to a column of Twin Sunflowers
  Plant Magnet-shrooms
  Finish off Pumpkin defenses (generally two per row)
  Start building Melon-pults and Kernel-pults for later upgrading

Sample Build:

         t  c  c [m][u] .  .  .  #   Symbol Legend
         t  c  c  m  G  G [G] g  #     .  Open Land      G  Gloom-shroom
         t  c  c  _ [u] _  _  _  _     _  Open Water     g  Garlic
         t  c  c  _ [u] _  _  _  _     t  Twin-Sunflower #  Spikerock
         t  c  c  m  G  G [G] g  #     c  kernel-pult    u  Magnet-shroom
         t  c  c [m][u] .  .  .  #    [ ] Pumpkin        m  Melon-pult

--- 630: Later Stages (Flags 5-10) --------------------------------------------

These stages are described together because the goals are the same, but small
changes will be necessary depending on the specific Zombies that attack during
each stage.  To begin with, we'll try to finish upgrading to our final setup:

         t  CCCC [W][u] .  .  .  #   Symbol Legend
         t  CCCC  W  G [G][G] g  #     .  Open Land      #  Spikerock
         t  CCCC [W][u] _  _  _  _     _  Open Water     u  Magnet-shroom
         t  CCCC [W][u] _  _  _  _     G  Gloom-shroom   W  Winter Melon
         t  CCCC  W  G [G][G] g  #     g  Garlic         C  Cob Cannon
         t  CCCC [W][u] .  .  .  #    [ ] Pumpkin        t  Twin Sunflower

The first order of business is getting Winter Melons on odd-numbered rows for
overlapping freeze effects.  Next, get a couple Cob Cannons up for defense
against Gargantuars.  Then, finish off the colums of each.

Balloon Zombies are a common occurrence, and Blovers are the best way to take
care of them, especially on Fog levels.  While Blovers are ultimately more
expensive, they ???

Towards the end, you may wish to keep some open spaces in the Winter Melon
column to protect your Cob Cannons.  Gargantuars that take 50% damage will toss
their Imps into your support ranks, and there's little time before they eat up
your Cannons.  The open spaces allow you to place Cherry Bombs to kill Imps.
You could also use the Cob Cannons to get rid of the Imps but they fire slowly
and it may be too late unless you accurately anticipate the Imps' arrival time.

If Digger Zombies consistently get past your Magnet-shrooms, you may wish to
place Pumpkins around your Twin Sunflowers.  This will give you some time to
use a Cob Cannon or Jalapeno to kill the Digger.  Note that you have some time
after the Digger resurfaces to kill him anyway, but Pumpkins will cut you some
slack.

--- 640: Location-specific Considerations -------------------------------------

While the overall strategy is the same for every level, there are obviously
some minor changes required by the level's location:

Day:
  Use Coffee for the Fume-shrooms and Magnet-shrooms

Night:
  Use Puff-shroom as your early attack unit
  Use Grave Buster to destroy gravestones

Pool:
  Use Lily Pads for planting in the pool
  Use Coffee for Fume-shrooms and Magnet-shrooms

Fog:
  Use Lily Pads for planting in the pool
  Use Puff-shroom as your early attack unit
  For early stages, use Planterns to cut through the fog
  For later stages, use Blovers for both Balloon Zombies and fog

Roof:
  Use Flower Pots for planting on the roof
  Use Umbrella Leaf for protection from Bungee and Catapult Zombies
  Use Coffee for the Fume-shrooms and Magnet-shrooms

In levels with 5 rows, the leading edge of the middle row is brought forward
because that row is covered by every Gloom-shroom and any Zombies there will 
all fall quickly.  This allows us to plant an extra Magnet-shroom:

         t  CCCC [W][u] .  .  .  #
         t  CCCC  W  G [G][G] g  #
         t  CCCC  W [u][u] .  .  #
         t  CCCC  W  G [G][G] g  #
         t  CCCC [W][u] .  .  .  #

--- 650: Survival Endless -----------------------------------------------------

Survival Endless is largely the same as Survival Pool (Hard) except that all
Zombies can spawn (e.g. Bungie Zombies) and there are endless waves of Zombies.
The techniques described above can finish around 20-30 flags, but better
defenses are required for the later flags.  Some changes:

Pull the land defenses back and into the water to create a larger kill zone
Defend the back lines better against Miners, Bungees, etc.
Use more winter melons to slow down attackers
Use at least 6 Cob Cannons to deal effectively with Gargantuars



,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
|  700: Zen Garden Walkthrough                                                |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'

The Zen Garden is a "stress-free" game mode that is unlocked after completing
level 5-4 in Adventure mode.  There, you can cultivate the plants that you
receive as gifts in other modes, and earn money to spend on upgrades.  At the
beginning there's only the Greenhouse environment, but there's also a Mushroom
Garden environment and an Aquarium Garden environment for your nocturnal and
aquatic plants respectively.  Lastly, there's a Tree of Wisdom that you can
grow to receive tips on playing the game.  The game's readme file has general
information [18] on the Zen Garden, and section 300 of my Plants vs Zombies
Gold-Farming Guide [19] describes how to earn money in two ways there.

[18] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html#GM/ZG
[19] http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/959255/56559



,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
|  800: Plant Army                                                            |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'

Note: There is an in-depth FAQ for the plants on the GameFAQs site.  Use that
until this section has more information.

--- Peashooter [***--]

"Peashooters are your first line of defense.  They shoot peas at attacking
Zombies."

Cost:     100
Recharge: Fast
Damage:   Normal

Notes:    Pros: Long Range, low cost, combo with Torchwood
          Cons: Not effective on the roof

--- Sunflower [ n/a ]

"Sunflowers are essential for you to produce extra sun.  Try planing as many as
you can!"

Cost:
Recharge:
Damage:

Notes:

--- Cherry Bomb
--- Wall-nut
--- Potato Mine
--- Snow Pea
--- Chomper
--- Repeater

--- Puff-shroom
--- Sun-shroom
--- Fume-shroom
--- Grave Buster
--- Hypno-shroom
--- Scaredy-shroom
--- Ice-shroom
--- Doom-shroom

Lily Pad
Squash
Threepeater
Tangle Kelp
Jalapeno
Spikeweed
Torchwood
Tall-nut

Sea-shroom
Plantern
Cactus
Blover
Split Pea
Starfruit
Pumpkin
Magnet-shroom

Cabbage-pult
Flower Pot
Kernel-pult


,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
|  900: Zombie Army                                                           |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'

Note: There is an in-depth FAQ for the Zombies on the GameFAQs site.  Use that
until this section has more information.