Winter Wonderland snowball fight arena – a final 2016 / 2017 challenge from the Lab
Don’t forget that Friday, March 17th marks the last residents vs. Lab snowball fight for the 2016 / 2017 winter season.
The chance for a final fling (pun intentional) in the snow was announced by Xiola Linden on March 15th, 2017, and the event will take place in the Snowball Arena at the Winter Wonderland.
There are two fight sessions scheduled:
09:00-10:00 SLT
13:00-14:00 SLT
Again, both are on Friday, March 17th, 2017.
The 5-region Winter Wonderland can be reached either through the new portal parks (reviewed here), or via direct teleport to the landing point. Just walk through the village on arrival and follow the path up over the hills. Kiosks at the entrance to the arena are available for obtaining your weapons.
lock’n’load at the weapons kiosks at the entrances to the Snowball Arena
Those who are Premium members can also pick-up the latest Premium gift via the Premium Kiosks, which once again includes a wearable token which allows you to upgrade your snowball weapons. I have no idea if the tokens given out in previous years also work as … I deleted mine!
Don’t forget – if you needed any reminding – that the Lab’s Jolly Holiday Crawl (Monday December 19th) will be finishing at Winter Wonderland at 12:00 noon SLT, ready for the traditional snowball fight – the Snowball Showdown – with residents, which will continue through to about 14:00 SLT.
To get to the Snowball Arena in the 5-region Winter Wonderland (which I again previewed this year) can be reached either through the new portal parks (again, reviewed here), or via direct teleport to the landing point. Just walk through the village on arrival and follow the path up over the hills. Kiosks at the entrance to the arena are available for obtaining your weapons.
Those who are Premium members can also pick-up the latest Premium gift via the Premium Kiosks, which once again includes a wearable token which allows you to upgrade your snowball weapons. I have no idea if the tokens given out in previous years also work as … I deleted mine!
lock’n’load at the weapons kiosks at the entrances to the Snowball Arena
Winter Wonderland snowball fight arena – a spring challenge from the Lab
Spring is sprung, the grass is ris, I wonder what that white stuff is? It’s snow a-plenty, and fun for all, And so the Lindens offer one more ball!
OK, so that’s not how the traditional spring verse goes, but it seems appropriate given the Lab have offered one more opportunity for fun and mayhem at Winter Wonderland, with a final friendly Lindens vs residents snowball fight for the 2015/2016 winter season.
In the blog post announcing the event, Xiola Linden says:
We have to take advantage of the snowball fight arena at the Winter Wonderlands region before the snow fully melts – and we want you to come have ice-hurling fun with us on Friday, March 25th, from 10 am – Noon SLT and 2 – 4 PM SLT. If you missed the last snowball fight now is your chance to come pelt some friends and Lindens with soft, fluffy balls of frozen fun. Grab your snow-launching weapons from the kiosks, get some practice in, and be sure to make the trek to the top of the ice castle to take in the amazing view.
So, if hurling snowballs via pistols, rifles and bazookas is your kind of fun (it is for Caitlyn and I!), then make a note on your calendars / in your diaries for Friday, March 25th at the times specified above!
Winter Wonderland 2015-2016 features a much bigger snowball fight area
In blogging about the re-opening of the Lab’s Winter Wonderland on Thursday, December 17th, I asked:
The big question is, however – will there be a residents vs Linden Lab snowball fight this year?
Well, the answer wasn’t long in coming, as a blog post from Xiola on Friday, December 18th, announced that there will indeed be a snowball fight to mark Christmas 2015 in Second Life, as she wrote:
Come one – come all to the Snowball Arena for a friendly ice battle of epic proportions! We’re bringing back the Official Snowball Showdown – where you’re free to pelt your fellow Second Life Residents and Lindens with a bevy of sparkling snowballs!
If you missed last year’s battle – now’s your chance to get some snow slinging fun in an icy free-for-all at Winter Wonderland. Join us on Monday, December 21st between 10 AM SLT and noon SLT.
If you’re looking for the latest in snow-slinging arsenal, be sure to grab your free snow launching weaponry from the vendors around the arena. Premium members can unlock even more powerful artillery.
Mark your calendars, assemble your dream team of friends, and meet us in the snow!
The 2015 snowball fight – which marked a return of the event after a lengthy absence – was a pretty robust and fun affair. This year, with a greatly expanded arena space and the odd monster thrown into the mix, promises to be far more of an occasion.
The February 2015 snowball fight at Winter Wonderland: Strawberry Singh swings into action, demonstrating her skill with a snowball rifle in a one-handed, from-the-hip snap shot at a moving target! (Flickr)
So, reconnoitre the playing arena, if you are Premium, grab your upgrade badge from a Premium kiosk, and get ready to lock’n’load on Monday, December 21st, from 10:00 SLT.
On February 6th, residents and Lindens met in-world for what proved to be a challenge met with gusto and delight: the first in-world snowball fight involving Linden staff in a fair while.
As I was able to report from the front lines (when not picking myself up off the floor and dusting myself down after getting splatted by a certain Mr. Gibson Firehawk … several times 😛 ), the event was held in the Winter Wonderland created by the Lab and the Moles to help demonstrate the forthcoming experience keys / tools.
But will Strawberry “Snap Shot” Singh be on-hand this time? …
Well, with Winter Wonderland liable to be closing its doors in March, due to springtime arriving, the gauntlet has been once again laid down, with a challenge handed out to one and all for a further snowball fight – only this time it comes from the Firestorm team!
The challenge was given out in a Firestorm blog post, which reads in part:
The Firestorm team wants to do it again! Snowball fight pt 2! For those who couldn’t make it to the first one this is your chance to get involved and have some old school fun! We have extended an invitation to the Lindens as well and hope some of them will join in too.
February 6th proved to be a huge amount of fun for everyone involved, something which even recalcitrant weapons vendors and a healthy smattering of lag amidst the snow could do little to dampen.
… and who might find they’re in need of a bit of a sit-down amidst all the excitement? (And will hot cocoa also be available this time?)
So… if you missed out the first time around, or if you want to do it all over again, be sure to be in-world at the Snowball Warzone in Winter Wonderland by 13:00 SLT on Sunday, February 22nd!
2015 snowball fight, Winter Wonderland: a shot as things start to wind-down after 90 minutes of mayhem! (Flickr) – click any image for full size
The Challenge was met with gusto: the first residents / Lab snowball fight in a fair while saw the Snowball Warzone at Winter Wonderland packed to the gills even before the event was due to start, with more than fifty people packed into it with 20 minutes still to go before launch.
By the time I arrived, there was a fair queue at the weapons vendors; such was the demand that the poor things were conking out under the strain. Enter Vitae Linden, with virtual hammer (well, as the Royal Engineers apparently say, “if it looks complicated, you’ll need a bigger hammer”), and a few swift blows / kicks and we we running up the hill to get started on the fun.
2015 snowball fight, Winter Wonderland: after a skilled use of mis-direction, Guy Linden makes a run past Ziki Questi and Sniper Siemens! (Flickr) – click any image for full size
Once everyone was suitably armed, the strategy for the game quickly became apparent: every avatar for themselves!
While attempts were made to stalk Lindens (and vice-versa), there were simply too many targets of opportunity – friends, acquaintances, names of note (I’m pretty sure Gibson got me around a dozen or more times!) – and mayhem quickly ensued (sorry, Ziki – that was me who got you under the arch of the snow castle. And up on the parapet. Twice 🙂 ).
The Lindens did, in all honesty, seem to be outnumbered just a little bit. Fortunately Xiola, Keira, Vitae, Dan and Guy (who was bravely throwing snowballs rather than relying on any high-tech gizmos) were soon reinforced by Shaman, Torley, Pete, Dee, April, Kelly, members of the Governance Team, and probably others I’ve missed.
2015 snowball fight, Winter Wonderland: Strawberry Singh swings into action, demonstrating her skill with a snowball rifle in a one-handed, from-the-hip snap shot at a moving target! (Flickr) – click any image for full size
Within around 15 minutes of things really getting underway, numbers seemed to have swelled considerably, which slowed the rate of fire with weapons and tended to make everyone impersonate Steve Austin / Jamie Sommers when running, but the fun continued unabated, and not even the vendors continuing to hiccup could dampen enthusiasm.
Lindens in action: Torley Linden takes airborne aim; and a (possibly paranoid?) android from the Governance Team
Some certainly appeared to be enjoying the opportunity to wreak a little havoc, as I (and several others) recovered from a tiny hail of snowballs which pelted us into the air, I spied a tiny Dee Linden sprinting by, accompanied by a little voice raised in triumph:
[10:50] Dee Linden shouts: MINE MINE MINE!
There was vengeance to be had elsewhere, however, as Torley found out, in the midst of a hail of snowballs:
[10:51] Clockwork Puppet (Fenix Eldritch) shouts: I think my trigger is stuck 😀
[10:51] ƬσяƖєу (Torley Linden) shouts: That was intentional <.<
It couldn’t last, however, and shortly thereafter came the forlorn cry:
All told, a lot of fun was had. What’s more, now we have the Winter Wonderland, there’s no excuse for more fun like this is the future – is there? Even if some of us did have to pause half-way through for a bit of a sit-down to catch our breath :).
2015 snowball fight, Winter Wonderland: Ed Merryman and I decide we’re just getting too darned *old* for all this running around mullarky, and needed a bit of a sit-down! (Flickr) – click any image for full size
If you were at the snowball fight, and you grabbed some pictures, remember you can share them on the official Second Life Flickr group.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 