Attention students! I'm standing here with Abed Nadir who has chosen to give his best friend Troy the very special going away present of declaring a school wide game of Hot Lava.
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— Dean Pelton, Geothermal Escapism |
Hot Lava is a game where the players imagine that the floor is lava and they must avoid touching it to win. Greendale hosted a campus-wide version of this contest at Abed Nadir's request. He wanted one more adventure with his best friend Troy Barnes before he left for a trip around the world. The duo had previously played the game in their first year at school but this time it evolved into a far more epic struggle. The conflict saw unusual alliances being formed, an unstoppable force unleashed and a hidden power awakened. The first instance of the game was seen in the Season One webisode "Study Break". |
Final Standings[]
This is a table of the final standings of the game of Hot Lava played by the students and faculty of Greendale Community College. This is not a complete list and only includes on-screen eliminations.
Placing | Image | Name | How They Got Out | Location |
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1st - Champion | Britta Perry | Last one standing. | Basement | |
2nd | Troy Barnes | Troy willingly stepped on the floor after
realizing that Abed's mental health was more important than the game. |
Basement | |
3rd | Abed Nadir | Abed realized that the only way he could
make the lava go away is if he "let go" of Troy, so he decided to literally "let go" of the rafters he was holding on to, thus sacrificing himself. |
Basement | |
4th | Professor Buzz Hickey | Buzz was pushed over by his teammate
Britta after she realized he was taking the game too seriously. |
Basement | |
5th | Alex "Star-Burns" Osbourne | Alex was trampled by Troy and Abed's
rolling inflatable orb while Troy and Abed were trying to escape Buzz. |
Hallway | |
6th | The Chairwalkers | The final horde of Chairwalkers were
trampled by Troy and Abed's rolling inflatable orb. |
Cafeteria | |
7th | Professor Jeff Winger | Eliminated by Britta Perry during an
exhilarating plunger standoff. |
Cafeteria | |
8th | Shirley Bennett | Unseen, presumably went down with
Shirley Island. |
Cafeteria | |
9th | Annie Edison | Accidentally fell when her rolling chair
slipped on a loose pile of rope. |
Cafeteria | |
10th | Garrett Lambert, Magnitude, Vicki, Leonard Rodriguez, & the Citizens of Shirley Island | Unseen, but they all presumably got
eliminated by the Chairwalkers whilst trying to escape. |
Cafeteria | |
11th | Neil | Neil acted as the guard of Shirley island,
which unfortunately meant he was the first to be eliminated when the Chairwalkers invaded and pushed him to the ground. |
Cafeteria | |
12th | Ben Chang
& the Locker Boys |
Ben and the Locker Boys were all
trampled by Buzz Hickey's machine. |
Hallway | |
13th | Professor Ian Duncan | Duncan was knocked to the ground
by Jeff Winger. He was the first on-screen elimination. |
Teacher's Lounge |
History[]
Season One[]
In the study group's first year at Greendale, they were in the middle of a study session when Annie insisted that take a 90 second break. During the third one of these imposed breaks, Troy suggested that the floor was lava. Troy and Annie jumped on top of their chairs and joined him in playing game of Hot Lava. Jeff amusingly noted the generation gap of the study group as all the older members remained seated. The younger members tried to encourage the rest to join in but Jeff was indifferent, Shirley and Pierce didn't understand the rules and Britta only halfheartedly joined in. Troy, Abed and Annie then stopped playing feeling that the others lack of participation ruined all the fun ("Study Break").
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Season Five[]
In the study group's fifth year together at Greendale, Pierce Hawthorne passed away and Troy was unexpectedly given the opportunity to inherit his fortune. According to Pierce's will, he had to complete a trip around the world in order to earn it. Abed decided to commemorate Troy's departure by announcing a special school wide game of Hot Lava on his last day of school. With Dean Pelton's approval, he announced this to everyone over the P.A. System. As an incentive for everyone to participate, Abed offered up as a prize his copy of the comic book "Space Clone" valued at $50,000. He counted down to the start of the game as everyone on campus scrambled to get into position.
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Hours later, Britta found herself reluctantly following the rules of the contest in order to find Abed. She believed he was extending the game in order to put off saying goodbye to Troy. Britta made her way to the Teachers' lounge where Jeff and Annie saved her from being pushed into the "lava" by Ian Duncan. Afterwards, the trio were lured into a trap by Ben Chang and his Locker Boyz gang. Before they could attack, Troy and Abed appeared only to have their arrival trumped by Professor Buzz Hickey riding atop his Juggernaut. Hickeys contraption made short work of Chang and his gang knocking them all into the lava. Abed and the others fled amidst the chaos and made plans to meet later at the safe haven known as Shirley's Island.
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Troy obeyed Abed's instructions and left Britta behind since her psychoanalyzing was slowing them down. Buzz witnessed the abandonment and instead of eliminating Britta invited her to join him in an alliance. Meanwhile, Troy and Abed reunited with their friends at Shirley's Island. Abed questioned Shirley about a legendary power she was rumored to have access to known as "The Orb". His inquiry was interrupted by the arrival of Buzz and Britta who were accompanied by their chair walking henchmen. After using a megaphone to berate Troy and Abed, Britta had her troops attack. They quickly took out the sentries and went after the island itself. Shirley had Leonard retaliate by greasing the floor with popcorn oil and sent a few of them into the lava.
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Jeff and Annie chose to confront the invaders on the battlefield using rolling chairs. Together, they executed a devastating tandem maneuver and eliminated a few more of the invaders. However, a mishap sent Annie into the lava as well and a duel involving toilet plungers and punchlines had Jeff eliminated by Britta. The dire situation convinced Shirley to give Troy and Abed "The Orb", a Zorbing sphere she hid in the bowels of the island. Inside the Orb, Troy and Abed burst free of what was left of the island and eliminated the rest of the chair walkers. They were confronted by Buzz Hickey who engaged them in a game of chicken with his Juggernaut vehicle.
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Buzz manged to get in close and slashed the bubbles outer shell with his knife causing it to slowly deflate. Troy and Abed were forced to retreat exiting the cafeteria and knocking Star-Burns into the lava while entering the hallway. Hickey and Britta pursued them on the Juggernaut all the way to the basement of the library just as the Orb expelled the last of its air. Troy and Abed hopped onto supply shelves, where in the midst of strategizing their next move, an unexpected breakthrough occurred. Abed confessed that because he didn't want Troy to leave he was actually imagining that the floor was really lava. When Britta and Hickey showed up, Troy warned that them that Abed was playing the game to a dangerous degree.
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Buzz ignored him and used what was left of "The Orb" to push over a row of shelves which knocked Abed off his perch. He managed to grab onto a low hanging vent while Britta pushed Hickey into the lava in retaliation. Abed realized he could only let Troy go if he "died" and willingly fell into the "lava". Britta and Troy tried unsuccessfully to rouse Abed out of his comatose state. Inspired by the "Space Clone" comic they found on Abed, Britta suggested they "clone" him. After pretending to do so, Abed awakened and stated this version of himself was okay with Troy leaving. Troy admitted his own reluctance at leaving and decided to fall into the lava and get cloned as well to remove his trepidation. Britta became the last "Hot Lava" player standing but it was unclear if she actually claimed the prize ("Geothermal Escapism").
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The game[]
Gameplay[]
Hot Lava is a competition where players imagine the ground beneath them is made of lava and must avoid coming into contact with it. Players must creatively utilize the environment to keep from touching the "lava". This can involve manipulating various items in their surroundings, particularly furniture, to accomplish this task. Competitors are forced to continually navigate designated areas and fending off challenges or attacks from other players. The game continues until one contestant is left who is then automatically declared the winner.
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Abed's rules[]
The following rules were added:
- Take this seriously.
- Stay on furniture.
- No books.
- No bags.
- The dead can't talk.
- No coming back as a lava monster.
The Prize[]
Abed wanted to organize the biggest game of "Hot Lava" he could manage. In order to motivate all the students and faculty to play, he offered the winner his copy of "Space Clone" issue number one. It was valued at $50,000 and proved incentive enough for those who normally wouldn't join in to eagerly participate. Although Britta was technically the winner it is unknown if she actually accepted the prize.
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Terminology[]
- Four legged diamonds: A slang word for chair.
- Floor Strider: Name given to players who aren't afraid to travel vast distances across the lava landscape.
- Plastic Gold: Another slang word for chair.
- Sofa hopper: Derogatory name given to a player who plays it safe and uses only large objects.
- Magmarath: A Deity of lava. Troy swears upon "the vapors of Magmarath" to restore the balance which Chang and his Locker Boys upset.
Advanced maneuvers[]
Similar to using stilts, players create makeshift Lava "shoes" by strapping a chair on each foot. This process takes a lot of practice and can be slow and awkward. |
If enough chairs are collected, players can attempt this lava-defying maneuver. The name itself is a reference to an urban legend involving comedian Danny Thomas about a particular sexual fetish he was rumored to have (source). |
List of other maneuvers[]
Community writer Tim Saccardo tweeted a photo of a board listing several different "Hot Lava" maneuvers.
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Alliances[]
Greendale students and faculty looking for a respite from the game gathered at Shirley's Island. This included sentry Neil, his girlfriend Vicki, storyteller Garrett, bongo player Magnitude, teams Jeff and Annie with Troy and Abed and founder Shirley. |
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