50 Fun Facts About Plants Vs. Zombies

Which pop star's estate objected to a dancing zombie in Plants vs. Zombies that copied his look?

Michael Jackson's estate objected to the Dancing Zombie, modelled on his Thriller video, so PopCap replaced it with a generic disco dancer.

Which enemies invaded the yard in the first design of Plants vs. Zombies, before zombies took over?

Aliens from the designer's earlier fish-tank game were the first invaders, until a sketch he dubbed the perfect zombie changed the whole theme.

Which singer had a huge 2019 hit that was inspired by the theme music of Plants vs. Zombies?

Billie Eilish's Bad Guy was inspired in part by the game's theme music, composed a full decade before the song came out.

In Plants vs. Zombies, which plant must go on the backyard pool first so that most others can float?

Lily Pad is the floating base for nearly every plant in the pool; only two water plants, Tangle Kelp and Sea-shroom, can do without it.

In Plants vs. Zombies 2, what snack does Crazy Dave travel back in time to eat a second time?

A taco is the whole reason for the trip: Crazy Dave enjoyed his so much that he fires up a time machine to eat it again, and overshoots by thousands of years.

Which military shooter series does the title of Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare parody?

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the title being spoofed, though the makers wanted a shooter far lighter in tone than its grim namesake.

What does Crazy Dave, the eccentric neighbour in Plants vs. Zombies, almost always wear on his head?

A saucepan is Crazy Dave's trademark headgear, worn even while he sells plant upgrades from the back of his car.

Which tough plant in Plants vs. Zombies exists to be chewed on, shielding the plants behind it?

Wall-nut is the first defensive plant players unlock, and its only job is to stall zombies and buy time for the attackers behind it.

The plant-flattening Zomboni of Plants vs. Zombies is a zombie driving which real-world machine?

An ice resurfacer of the kind made by Zamboni is what the zombie drives, leaving a slick trail behind it on which nothing can be planted.

Which zombie leader attacks from a robot he invented in the last level of Plants vs. Zombies?

Dr. Zomboss fights from the Zombot, a machine whose name blends zombie and robot, and it can only be damaged when it bends down to attack.

Which publisher bought PopCap in 2011 and turned Plants vs. Zombies into a multi-game franchise?

Electronic Arts bought PopCap two years after the first release, then spun the series into sequels, shooters and a card game.

Which is the only plant in Plants vs. Zombies that can be planted directly onto the roof?

Flower Pot is the only plant that can go straight onto the roof, whose slope also forces players to swap straight shooters for catapult plants.

What single-use machine guards the house end of each grass lane in Plants vs. Zombies?

A lawnmower fires once when a zombie reaches it and clears the whole lane; the pool gets a pool cleaner and the roof a roof cleaner instead.

What does the zombie leading each extra-large wave in Plants vs. Zombies carry as it shuffles in?

A flag marks the zombie at the head of every huge wave, which arrives at the end of each level and often in the middle too.

Which plant in Plants vs. Zombies shoots down a Balloon Zombie by popping its balloon in mid-air?

Cactus stretches upward to hit the balloon, dropping the zombie to the ground where any other plant can attack it.

Which single-use plant in Plants vs. Zombies destroys a zombie by leaping on top of it?

Squash crushes whatever it lands on, and that pun is why the game's designer singled the plant out as one of his favourites.

Which explosive plant in Plants vs. Zombies must spend time underground before it is armed?

Potato Mine takes 15 seconds to arm itself before surfacing, and until then any passing zombie can simply eat it.

Which slow, sleepy pet collects coins for the player in the Zen Garden of Plants vs. Zombies?

A snail named Stinky picks up coins for only three minutes before dozing off, but a piece of chocolate keeps him awake and speedy for an hour.

Which zombie in Plants vs. Zombies smashes plants flat and hurls a tiny zombie when badly hurt?

Gargantuar has the most health of any non-boss zombie in Adventure mode, and once half of it is gone he throws his Imp several squares ahead.

In the card game Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, plants spend sun to play cards; what do zombies spend?

Brains pay for every zombie card, mirroring the sun that plants spend, and each side fields eleven heroes to choose from.

What hides most of the backyard during the fourth stage of Adventure mode in Plants vs. Zombies?

Fog rolls in over the night-time pool levels, so players must defend six lanes while seeing only part of the yard.

Which setting is the first world that players visit on their journey through Plants vs. Zombies 2?

Ancient Egypt is where the sequel's journey through history begins, and its horde is made up of mummy zombies of several kinds.

What is the name of Crazy Dave's talking, time-travelling van in Plants vs. Zombies 2?

Penny is written as her owner's opposite: smart, serious and informative, she explains each new era to the player.

Which plant in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare burrows underground to ambush zombies from below?

Chomper is the plants' close-combat class, tunnelling under the battlefield to ambush a zombie and swallow it.

Which designer of Plants vs. Zombies also recorded the gibberish voice of Crazy Dave himself?

George Fan first designed the game alone, then voiced its only human character, a parody of a man he knew named David.

After the zombies conquer the plants' home town in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, what do they rename it?

Zomburbia is the zombies' new name for Suburbia, and the plants spend the sequel fighting to win their home back.

On which social network could people play Plants vs. Zombies Adventures until it shut down in 2014?

Facebook hosted the spin-off, which gave players a limited stock of plants and made them grow more on a farm between fights.

Which plant in Plants vs. Zombies turns the peas fired through it into flaming ammunition?

Torchwood was a favourite of the game's designer because it makes players think about how plants work together, not just what each one does.

Which plant in Plants vs. Zombies explodes on planting and covers its whole lane in fire?

Jalapeno trades the wide blast of a Cherry Bomb for reach, hitting everything in one lane however far along it stands.

Which plant in Plants vs. Zombies has to be dropped onto a mushroom before that mushroom will work by day?

Coffee Bean is the only way to use mushrooms by day, since they otherwise fall asleep, which makes each one cost 75 sun more.

Which Plants vs. Zombies enemy was redrawn as a man who became undead while sitting on the toilet?

Newspaper Zombie was first drawn just reading his paper; the artist's bathroom backstory reminded the designer's brother of their own father.

Which power-up introduced in Plants vs. Zombies 2 briefly supercharges whatever it is used on?

Plant Food drops from zombies that glow green and triggers a special move, such as a Peashooter firing a powerful volley of peas.

Which trading card game inspired the seed packets chosen before each level of Plants vs. Zombies?

Magic: The Gathering gave the designer the idea while he was teaching his girlfriend to build a deck, replacing a planned conveyor belt of random plants.

Custom tower defense maps made for which strategy game helped inspire Plants vs. Zombies?

Warcraft III players built tower defense mods inside the game, and trying them convinced the designer that plants would make good towers.

Which composer wrote the Plants vs. Zombies soundtrack and sang its closing-credits song?

Laura Shigihara composed and performed the credits song, then went on to create her own acclaimed indie adventure, Rakuen.

Which plant in Plants vs. Zombies makes any zombie that bites it shuffle into a different lane?

Garlic lets players steer the horde, funnelling zombies out of a weak lane and into one with far stronger defences.

Which plant in Plants vs. Zombies fights nothing and makes no sun, but pays the player in coins?

Marigold is an alternate version of the Sunflower that turns out coins instead of sun, and her name may be a pun on the word gold.

Which Plants vs. Zombies Puzzle mode hides a plant or a zombie in each object the player opens?

Vasebreaker started life as a single mini-game level, which the designer enjoyed tweaking so much that he spun it off into Puzzle mode.

Which mushroom in Plants vs. Zombies strips buckets, football helmets and screen doors from zombies?

Magnet-shroom does no damage at all, yet by pulling away metal armour it can leave a Football Zombie as weak as an ordinary one.

Plants vs. Zombies began as a follow-up to which fish-tank game by the same designer?

Insaniquarium shaped the pacing too: choosing plants before each level mirrors choosing pets before each tank in the earlier game.

Which film, in which castaways defend their home against pirates, helped inspire Plants vs. Zombies?

Swiss Family Robinson gave the designer the picture of a household holding off attackers at its own door, with plants standing in for the people.

Which arcade game did the creator of Plants vs. Zombies start at a game jam after his 2012 layoff?

Octogeddon was built in 48 hours for a contest themed on evolution, then developed for years with the artist of the original zombie game.

Which old arcade game influenced the way Plants vs. Zombies makes players multitask between lanes?

Tapper made juggling several lanes at once its whole challenge, a trick the designer borrowed alongside ideas from a card game and a film.

Which rare enemy in Plants vs. Zombies appears only on replays and walks away unless beaten quickly?

Zombie Yeti never shows up on a first playthrough; on later runs he wanders in and pays out diamonds if defeated before he leaves the yard.

Which working title did Plants vs. Zombies carry before its invaders were changed to zombies?

Weedlings was dropped because so many gardening games were coming out; the makers later wanted Lawn of the Dead, but a film director refused.

Which plant in Plants vs. Zombies copies another seed, letting a player bring the same plant twice?

Imitater mimics any chosen plant, which in effect halves that plant's recharge time at the cost of one seed slot.

Which game's closing song inspired Zombies on Your Lawn, the credits tune of Plants vs. Zombies?

Portal closes with the song Still Alive, and its example led the composer to write and perform a credits number of her own.

Which film composer's soundtracks influenced the macabre yet goofy music of Plants vs. Zombies?

Danny Elfman was a stated influence, and the night levels pair big band swing beats with haunting, serious melodies.

Which game engine, developed by the studio DICE, powers Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare?

Frostbite expertise was hired in for the job: PopCap recruited people who had worked with the engine and collaborated closely with DICE.

The Plants vs. Zombies designer feared Flash animation would make it resemble which adult cartoon?

South Park and its paper cut-out look were the worry, but the finished animation won him over and he credited the programmer and artist.