Snowdin/Puzzles

Puzzles are a prominent component in Undertale and are also found by the protagonist in Snowdin Forest which has been set up by Papyrus and Sans. If the protagonist is on the Genocide Route, most of these puzzles can be skipped as they have already been solved.

The Invisible Electricity Maze
The Invisible Electricity Maze is one of the first puzzles encountered in Snowdin Forest. This puzzle will always begin electrocuting Papyrus no matter where they enter the maze. Papyrus walks over the solution to the maze and gives them the orb that they will be electrocuted by. The maze cannot actually harm the protagonist if they get electrocuted.

If the protagonist attempts to walk away from this puzzle, Papyrus will ask 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 puzzle. Afterwards, he will just respond with " HUMANS... ".

On the Genocide Route, the protagonist will walk in the middle of the maze while Papyrus is monologuing. Papyrus will become 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 will then walk closer to Papyrus; Papyrus will get nervous but then complain about the protagonist not liking puzzles and leaves.

Ball Game
The Ball Game is an optional puzzle game found immediately after the Invisible Electricity Maze. The game works similar to a game of mini-golf where the protagonist must push the ball into the hole at the end of a tampered snow course. Of course, once the ball is pushed, it must be continuously pushed or else it will shrink and melt then return to the beginning of the course. There are ice tiles near the end of this course that prohibit movement and cause the ball to shrink faster.

Sinking the ball into the hole will cause a flag of a certain color to spring up out of the hole. These flags provide a description of how the ball was handled, which is thought to be related to the personality of the six souls, and then awards the protagonist with a certain amount of GOLD. Checking the hole before the ball is pushed into it will bring up an excited reaction to the hole.

On a Genocide Route completed up to Snowdin, the ball is missing and the game cannot be played. Checking the hole will just say "It's just a hole."

There is a glitch in which if the ball is made small enough, it can be pushed out of the rink and off the cliff.

Monster Kidz Word Search
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", which has been deemed the "greatest and most popular Undertale character" by Toby Fox, and can contain a bear-faced snowman named "Nightmare" with certain fun values. If the protagonist attempts to leave back to the room to the left, Papyrus will complain to Sans that he had made the puzzle too hard.

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

If the protagonist is on a Genocide Route, Sans will instead mention that he should have put down Junior Jumble if the protagonist decides to skip the puzzle. However, if the protagonist decides to look at the puzzle, Papyrus will complain 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 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 a True Pacifist Route, the spaghetti will become 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 Forest 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 puzzle.

The XOXO Puzzles
The XOXO Puzzles are puzzles where the protagonist has to turn all the blue X's into red O's without stepping on the O's again or else the tile will turn into a green delta sign. Pressing on the switch found in each puzzle will reset the switch if the puzzle is incomplete, pressing on the switch when all the tiles are red O's will solve the puzzle and turn the puzzle into green O's. This puzzle is always reset upon leaving and reentering regardless or completion. There are three variants of this puzzle that can be found in Snowdin Forest.

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 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 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
The Multicolor Tile Puzzle found in Snowdin Forest is always randomly generated upon first appearance and when the puzzle is being generated, but will always result in the same red and pink tile pattern if the protagonist claims to have understood the instructions. Papyrus will first explain 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 Forest; 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 tiles acts 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 will attempt to explain the puzzle again but will get 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-like machine, but does not operate if the protagonist tries to interact with it.

The Gauntlet of Deadly Terror
The Gauntlet of Deadly Terror is the final "puzzle" encountered in Snowdin Forest 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 redacts the puzzle since he considers it too easy to capture the protagonist with.

On the Genocide Route, Papyrus will just say that the protagonist will simply walk right through it and mentions that it would not be fun. Papyrus will then realize that he has the wrong audience and will save the puzzle for Undyne.

Trivia

 * Should the Multicolor Tile puzzle function as designed, the chance of getting the final arrangement of pink and red tiles (as shown) would be 1 out of 36,703,368,217,294,125,441,230,211,032,033,660,188,801, (36.7 duodecillion) or 748.