7 rules to stay alive
- Read the tip line. It is the game’s own instruction for each word, written right under it.
- Keep moving. Many words hunt or roam: zombies “hunt nonstop”, a tornado “roams all match”.
- Get high. Climbing beats zombies and floods. Gravity Coil (3x jump) and Portable Ladder help.
- Remember what is still on the map. Words stack. A tornado from 3 minutes ago is still out there.
- Use shelters. BUNKER gives everyone a safe house for a while; nukes come with a bunker.
- Fill your loadout. Your best 5 items come into every match. Force Field, Medkit and escape items first.
- Use your free revive. In our first match the first revive was FREE.
How to counter each word
| Word | Tip line (in-game) | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 67 | “SIX SEVEN! The 67 kid is coming... walk away!” | Just keep walking away from it. It is slow. |
| Admin | “An admin is online: one command, 20 seconds. Behave!” | Stay away from the writer for 20 seconds. |
| Angel | “An ANGEL descends to judge you! The strong should hide under a roof!” | Get under a roof, as the tip line says. |
| Apple | “Food for everyone! Grab it and eat.” | Grab one: food heals and fills your hunger bar. |
| Aura | “+1000 aura! The writer glows, everyone else a little.” | Nothing to dodge. |
| Bunker | “Safe house! Get inside - it won't last forever!” | Write it when a big disaster is coming and run inside. It is temporary, so be ready to leave. |
| Chill Guy | “Just a chill guy. Monsters are chilling for 30s.” | Use the 30 seconds to get to safety. |
| Demon | “The DEVIL rose! Watch for fireballs... and don't take his deals.” | Keep moving to dodge fireballs, and ignore any deal he offers. |
| Dice | “Lucky blocks for everyone! Walk into one... feeling lucky?” | A gamble: could help or hurt. |
| Doom | “DOOM descends! Move when the green light marks you.” | Keep an eye on yourself: when the green light lands on you, move right away. |
| Dragon | “A DRAGON! When it stops and breathes in, get out of its fire!” | Watch for it to stop and breathe in, then move sideways out of the fire line. |
| Fog | “Thick fog rolled in. Keep your eyes open...” | Stay still near cover you know, and watch for shadows of monsters moving in the fog. |
| GG | “GG! Good game, everyone... it's not over yet though.” | Nothing to dodge. The match goes on. |
| God | “A god walks among you - dodge the falling light!” | Watch the ground for the falling light and step out of it. |
| Guns | “Weapon drop at the red flare! First one there takes it.” | Run to the flare, or stay away from whoever gets the gun. |
| Halloween | “Happy Halloween! Spooky season is here.” | Keep watching for the next word; this one did no damage we could see. |
| Heal | “Medkit incoming! Watch the red flare-first one there gets it.” | Run to the red flare straight away. |
| Horror | “Horror night: something is hunting you for … seconds!” | Run and keep running until the horror night ends. |
| House | “A house just grew out of the ground. Home sweet home!” | A roof to hide under during snow, angels or bombs. |
| Jesus | “JESUS descends! Stay close, everyone is healed.” | Stay close to heal up. |
| Kill | “The writer has a knife! Keep away and dodge.” | Keep your distance from the writer and dodge thrown knives. |
| Kraken | “A giant octopus! Stay out of its reach.” | Keep your distance from the tentacles; they only reach so far. |
| Luffy | “Rubber arm! The writer can stretch, fly and grab you.” | If someone else writes it, stay out of reach of the writer. |
| Mansion | “A HAUNTED MANSION rose from the ground... go inside if you dare.” | Going inside is optional. The tip line says “if you dare”. |
| Monster | “A monster! Stay quiet... it hears you run.” | Walk, don’t run: the tip line says it hears you run. |
| Nuke | “NUKE INCOMING! Get inside the BUNKER!” | Get inside the bunker. If it is a second NUKE (bombs instead), run or hide under a roof. |
| Orbital Gun | “LASERS! Jump the beam-sometimes twice!” | Jump the beam as it passes, sometimes twice in a row. |
| Reset | “Oof! Reset!” | Watch what changes on the map after it. |
| Rest | “Peace time is over! No more peace in the final.” | Don’t count on peace words late in a match. |
| Rock | “A giant boulder is coming! Step out of its way!” | Watch which way it rolls and step to the side. |
| Simon | “Someone new showed up... they really want you to know their name.” | Usually harmless. Watch what it does before you get close. |
| Skibidi | “Skibidi?! The toilets are ALIVE!” | Keep moving away from them. |
| Small | “Everyone got tiny! Watch your step.” | Watch your step, as the tip line says. |
| Snow | “Blizzard! Get under a roof or by a fire before you freeze!” | Get under any roof or stand next to a fire until it passes. |
| Snowman | “Do you wanna build a SNOWMAN? Too late, here it is.” | Harmless in our match. |
| Spear | “Melee drop at the red flare! First one there takes it.” | Same as GUNS: first one to the flare takes it. |
| Titan | “A titan! Stay away from his fists and his feet!” | Keep away from his fists and feet; get distance rather than height. |
| Tornado | “TORNADO! It roams all match. Walk away or hide in a shelter!” | Walk away from it or hide in a shelter such as a BUNKER. It does not leave, so keep checking where it is. |
| Zombies | “Zombies hunt nonstop! Climb something tall and keep moving!” | Climb something tall and keep moving. Zombies on flat ground will catch a player who stands still. |
| Zone | “The zone is closing! Stay inside the circle!” | Move inside the circle early and stay there. |
Which item fixes which danger?
Items work against the effects words leave on you. Every line below comes from the item’s own in-game text.
Fire
Medkit · RarePopsicle · CommonWater Balloon · CommonSnowball · Common
Medkit and Popsicle put your own fire out; a Water Balloon soaks everyone nearby so they can’t catch fire for 20 s; a Snowball puts out someone else’s fire.
Cold
Medkit · Rare
Medkit gets rid of cold. For SNOW the tip line says to get under a roof or stand by a fire.
Poison
Medkit · Rare
Medkit gets rid of poison.
Heat
Popsicle · Common
A Popsicle cools you down and “You won’t feel the heat for 90 seconds.”
Hunger
Pizza · Common
Pizza heals 25 and “fills your hunger bar”.
Flood
Portable Ladder · RareRainbow Magic Carpet · Epic
The ladder “always reaches above a flood”; the carpet flies for 20 s.
Undead (zombies, vampires)
Garlic · Common
Hold Garlic and undead creatures and hunters run far away from you.
Animals and bosses chasing you
Meat Bone · UncommonBoombox · RareSmoke Bomb · RareBug Spray · Common
Meat Bone distracts meat-eaters for 12 s, Boombox pulls creatures to it for 20 s, Smoke Bomb hides you for 8 s, Bug Spray drops insects and scares creatures off.
Anything at all
Force Field · Legendary
“Nothing can hurt you for 20 seconds.” Save it for the worst moment.
How do you win the final two?
With two players left, both write at the same time every few seconds (“Both write again in 13”). Words pile up fast, so it becomes a race of who reacts better. Keep a defensive item (Force Field, Smoke Bomb) for this moment, and answer big disasters with BUNKER. More on the best words page.
FAQ
How do you survive in Survive Your Ideas?
Read the tip line under every word, because it tells you what to do (“Climb something tall and keep moving!”, “Get under a roof or by a fire”). Keep moving, get onto high ground, bring escape and healing items in your loadout, and hide in a BUNKER when someone writes one.
How do you survive zombies?
The game says: “Zombies hunt nonstop! Climb something tall and keep moving!” Holding Garlic makes zombies and other undead run away from you.
How do you survive a tornado?
“TORNADO! It roams all match. Walk away or hide in a shelter!” It does not leave, so keep checking where it is for the rest of the match.
How do you survive a flood or tsunami?
Get high. A Portable Ladder “always reaches above a flood”, and the Rainbow Magic Carpet flies for 20 seconds. The Tsunami Mastery quest “Survive 3 waves, no escapes” shows waves can be survived.
How do you survive a nuke?
Nukes come with a bunker: the Nuke Mastery quest is “Survive 3 outside the bunker”, which means hiding inside the bunker is the normal way to live through one.