Mini-games

Mini-games are a feature available in most versions of Plants vs. Zombies, where they are accessed through the main menu below Adventure Mode, or on the iOS and Android versions are accessed through Quick Play. Mini-games variously have the player choose plants, use a conveyor belt to provide plants, or force the player to use set plants. There are twenty Mini-games in most versions with various unique twists, such as smaller zombies or zombies with plants for heads. On the iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, and Game of the Year versions, beating all the mini-games present will earn the player the Achievement Beyond the Grave. However, the player must buy them in some versions. Many Mini-games are closely related to PopCap's other games.

Mini-games can be found for the first time in a Present dropped by a Zombie in level 3-2 of Adventure Mode. The Mini-games given are ZomBotany, Wall-nut Bowling, and Slot Machine. The player can unlock more Mini-games after the completion of Adventure Mode.

Overview
At first, Mini-games cannot be accessed, but the mode is unlocked as the player progresses through the game. There will be three unlocked Mini-games before finishing Adventure Mode; ZomBotany, Wall-nut Bowling, and Slot Machine. After the player completes Adventure Mode, more Mini-games will be unlocked, and the player must complete them to unlock further Mini-games. Each Mini-game yields one diamond after the first completion, and a bag with five Gold Coins in subsequent plays.

The player must complete all 20 Mini-games, the first ten Survival Mode stages, and the first nine Vasebreaker and I, Zombie Puzzle Mode games in order to get the Gold Sunflower Trophy. This will also unlock the Nobel Peas Prize Achievement in the Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the Year Version.

Mini-games are unlocked on level 3-2.

On the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad, some of the Mini-Games must be purchased from Crazy Dave's Twiddydinkies.

There are no Mini-games on Android Tablets or Android Phones except for all ones the player encounters in Adventure Mode, like Whack a Zombie and Wall-nut Bowling. These are listed as Bonus Games under Quick Play.

In the iPad version Vasebreaker is listed under Mini-games in addition to under Puzzle Mode.

List of Mini-games

 * ZomBotany: Here, everything is normal, except that the Zombies have plants instead of their usual heads. Whatever plant happens to be there, the Zombie will act both like the plant and a normal Zombie. For example, a Zombie with a Peashooter on his head will walk towards the player's plants, shooting peas on that lane as he goes and eating the plants once he reaches them but Wall-nut Zombie has same health as a Wall-nut. This Mini-game has a sequel.
 * Wall-nut Bowling: Just like the one in Adventure Mode, the player must bowl Wall-nuts and Explode-o-nuts at the approaching Zombies in order to kill them. Ricochets can earn the player money. This Mini-game has a sequel.
 * Slot Machine: The player must pay 25 Sun to pull the lever in order to get Plants, more Sun or more Money. In order to complete this Mini-game, the player must acquire 2000 Sun to finish the level.
 * It's Raining Seeds: Like Conveyor-Belt Levels, except the seeds will disappear if the player doesn't plant them shortly after they fall. It takes place on a Fog level, and is not present in the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 PlayStation Vita, and Xbox Live Arcade versions.
 * Beghouled: Just like PopCap's previous game Bejeweled, except the player's jewels will be plants which will attack the approaching zombies. Sun is obtained from successful matches and can be used to fill in empty spots (200 Sun) or purchase upgrades. The level ends after 75 matches are made. This Mini-game has a sequel.
 * Invisi-ghoul: A night-time pool Conveyor-Belt Level with no Fog, the twist is that all approaching zombies will be invisible. Plants will still fire at them, though, and the player can see the impacts and parts falling off the zombies. The player can use an Ice-shroom to see their places on the lawn. On the Xbox 360 version, the player can see which lane a zombie comes from.
 * Seeing Stars: A front yard Daytime level in which the player must plant Starfruit on several outlined spots in the shape of a star, while also defending himself or herself. The player cannot plant anything except Starfruit (and Pumpkin) on the outlined spots, and he or she wins when each outlined spot has a Starfruit on it.
 * Zombiquarium: Similar to Insaniquarium, in that if the player needs to feed Snorkel Zombies brains to accumulate 1000 sun to purchase a trophy. If they are not fed, they die.
 * Beghouled Twist: Like Bejeweled Twist, in the same style as Beghouled, except matches are made through rotating plants in a clockwise direction.
 * Big Trouble Little Zombie: All Zombies are smaller, move faster and come in much greater numbers, but they are easier to kill. This Mini-game is not present in the DS and DSiWare versions. Instead, it is replaced with the Mini-game Heat Wave.
 * Portal Combat: There are two pairs of Portals around the map: when a zombie or projectile from a plant enters one of these, it exits through the other portal, in the same direction that it entered. Portals will randomly change places throughout the level.
 * Column Like You See 'Em: Each plant that the player plants on the Roof will be duplicated on each lane in that column, and zombies will come in much greater numbers, which causes lag.
 * Bobsled Bonanza: A Daytime Pool level which starts with ice on all four ground lanes, several Zombie Bobsled Teams and Zombonis will appear throughout the level unless the player melts the ice. If the player does, he or she will face several Zombonis first.
 * Zombie Nimble Zombie Quick: A normal daytime pool level, except everything will be much faster. This Mini-game does not appear in the DS and DSiWare versions.
 * Whack a Zombie: Zombies will appear from Graves, and the player must whack them with his or her Mallet. They will sometimes drop Sun, which he or she can use to plant Grave Busters, Potato Mines and Ice-shrooms. Ice-shrooms are replaced with Cherry Bombs in the iPhone and iPod Touch version. This level is similar to level 2-5 in Adventure Mode.
 * Last Stand: A daytime pool level. The player starts with 5000 Sun and must survive for five flags. The player cannot plant free plants (Puff-shrooms and Sea-shrooms), and Sun Producing Plants (Sun-shrooms, Sunflowers and Twin Sunflowers) or the Imitater versions of them. It is one of most popular Mini-games.
 * ZomBotany 2: Like ZomBotany, though this one takes place in the Pool, and there are more types of plant-zombies, such as Jalapeno, Squash, Gatling Pea, and Tall-nut.
 * Wall-nut Bowling 2: Similar to Wall-nut Bowling, but with Screen Door Zombies, Dancing Zombies, Backup Dancers, and Giant Wall-nuts, which squash all the zombies in a row.
 * Pogo Party: The player will face mostly Pogo Zombies in this Roof level, as well as normal zombies in the huge waves.
 * Dr. Zomboss's Revenge: Just like the final boss, except this time Dr. Zomboss will have more health and will send his minions more often.
 * Buttered Popcorn: The player touches up to eleven zombies' heads at once to place butter there, then destroy them using the provided Cob Cannons. It is exclusive to the iPad version.
 * Heavy Weapon: The player controls a Lawn Mower on the bottom of the screen with one joystick, while using the other to aim and fire Peas from a cannon on the lawn mower. It is exclusive to the Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita versions. This is similar to PopCap's game Heavy Weapon.
 * Heat Wave: A Mini-game exclusive to the Nintendo DS and DSiWare versions of the game. It takes place in the Pool, in which only ten plants are given that can be moved anywhere that is needed. Sometimes the Peashooters tire from the heat, and the player then yells into the DS's built in microphone to encourage them, thus turning them orange and greatly increasing their firing speed for a short time. This Mini-game replaces Big Trouble Little Zombie.
 * BOMB All Together!: A Mini-game exclusive to the Nintendo DS version of the game, in which the player is given 25 Exploding Plants to dispatch zombies with.
 * Homerun Derby: A Mini-game exclusive to the Nintendo DS version of the game. A player must hit 30 Home Runs by using the stylus as a baseball bat while preventing the zombies from entering the player's house.
 * Air Raid: A Mini-game exclusive to the DS version of the game, where the player controls a flying Gatling Pea with the stylus trying to defeat Dr. Zomboss in his flying Zombot. It has the same name as a Cancelled Mini-game.
 * Zombie Trap: A Mini-game exclusive to the Nintendo DSiWare version, where the player attracts Zombies using Brains to trap and kill them.

Cancelled Mini-games
Main article: Cancelled Mini-games and Limbo Page.
 * Art Challenge Wall-nut: Plant Wall-nuts to make a circle.
 * Sunny Day: Big Sun falls from the sky, worth 50 sun.
 * Unsodded: Only three lanes can be planted on, but zombies still come out of all five lanes.
 * Big Time: Sunflowers, Wall-nuts, and Marigolds are bigger, doubling Sun or Coin production or health.
 * Art Challenge Sunflower: Like Art Challenge Wall-nut, but with Starfruit, Wall-nuts, and Umbrella Leaves.
 * Air Raid: Many Balloon Zombies appear.
 * Ice Level: An unfinished level with no zombies and only six plants to choose from.
 * Zen Garden: Leads the player to the Zen Garden.
 * High Gravity: Only Fumes and Corn Cobs can be shot without falling down.
 * Grave Danger: Graves appear every once in a while and zombies come out of them every wave.
 * Can You Dig It?: Dig up Wall-nuts and plant Peashooters.
 * Dark Stormy Night: Like level 4-10 in Adventure Mode but the plants and zombies are notably different.
 * Bungee Blitz: Just like level 5-5 in Adventure Mode.
 * Intro: Leads the player to Adventure Mode.
 * Tree of Wisdom: Leads the player to the Tree of Wisdom.
 * Survival: Day (Endless): Day version of the Survival: Endless.
 * Survival: Night (Endless): Night version of the Survival: Endless.
 * Survival: Fog (Endless): Fog version of the Survival: Endless.
 * Survival: Roof (Endless): Roof version of the Survival: Endless.
 * Upsell: An advertisement on the free trial to buy the full version.
 * Squirrel: The player must dig up Wall-nuts to find seven squirrels before a zombie reaches his or her house. This cannot be unlocked using the Limbo Page.thumb|300px|Loonboon

Mini-games that play Loonboon Music
Some Mini-games have their own Music which is called Loonboon. They are Wall-nut Bowling, Big Trouble Little Zombie, Zombie Nimble Zombie Quick, Whack a Zombie, Wall-nut Bowling 2, Heat Wave, Zombie Trap and Bungee Blitz.