Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move

Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move is an action puzzle game for the Nintendo 3DS and the fifth game in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. It is the first game in the series for the Nintendo 3DS, and is only available for digital download through the Nintendo eShop. Like its predecessors, Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!, the game features the use of Mini toys. The basic objective of the game is the same as these games: in each level, the player must guide the Minis to the goal within the time limit. In this game, however, each level is divided into tiles, and the player must arrange certain tiles to form a path directing Minis to the goal.

Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move was eventually removed from the 3DS eShop after its discontinuation on March 27th, 2023, making it no longer possible for players to purchase the game. However, players who purchased the title before this date can still play it as long as it is on their 3DS device.

Story
From the Introduction tab of the Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move English digital manual: Following another huge success of the Mini Land Theme Park, the Mario Toy Company has decided to host a Mini Toy Carnival this year!

Donkey Kong™ will not be your foe this time around—he has teamed up with Pauline to run a game arcade called Mini Arcade within the Mini Toy Carnival.

A vast array of attractions awaits you! Can you solve all the levels and overcome the minigames' challenges?

Main Game
The Main Game mode features four attractions total, each unlocked after collecting a certain number of Stars. Mario's Main Event and Puzzle Palace have 60 levels. By clearing all 60 levels in either of these attractions, an Expert Mode can be unlocked for each game mode, with an additional 10 levels. Many Mini Mayhem contains 50 levels, while Giant Jungle contains three very large levels. This makes for a total of 203 levels in the game.


 * Mario's Main Event - "Use the falling tiles to get the Mini to the goal!"
 * Puzzle Palace - "Use the tiles given to find the best path for the mini!" (unlocked by collecting 10 Stars)
 * Many Mini Mayhem - "Shift and rotate the tiles to get all the Minis to the goal!" (unlocked by collecting 20 Stars)
 * Giant Jungle - "Collect the Stars, and get the Mini all the way to the goal!" (unlocked by collecting 30 Stars)

Each level in the game consists of a tile-based grid. Minis spawn from one or more green Warp Pipes present in the level. Depending on the attraction, the player must use the stylus to either drag tiles into place or rearrange them, in order to create a path for the Minis that leads to the goal. If the player has completely filled in the path between any remaining Minis in the level and the goal, the Minis quickly speed towards the goal, and the timer is automatically disabled. Tapping a Mini's icon displayed on the Touch Screen causes the Mini to gain a short burst of speed. The player can use the and  buttons at any time to rotate the camera angle by 90 degrees.

If a Mini's path is not connected to another tile or is blocked by an incorrectly placed path, the Mini will flash red and tremble on the edge of the path. If the Mini trembles for about five seconds, it falls off the path and the player loses the level. This also occurs if a Mini does not leave the Warp Pipe it spawns from for a certain amount of time, if a Mini touches a Shy Guy without using hammers or falls into spikes, or if the player runs out of time during a level.

In Mario's Main Event and Giant Jungle, red tiles slowly drop into the tile pipe, at which point they can be placed into the level to make a path for Minis to walk on. The player can quickly receive the next tile by tapping the Next Button above the tile pipe. The tile pipe can only hold five tiles at one time; if a sixth tile enters a full tile pipe, it overflows and the player loses the level. Occasionally, the player may also be given a bomb tile, which can be used to remove a red tile. Some levels feature trash cans, which the player can use to discard unnecessary tiles; filling up a trash can gives the player a magic tile as their next tile. In Many Mini Mayhem, the player must rearrange the given path to guide multiple Minis to the goal, and in Puzzle Palace, the player must use the tiles given in order to create a path to the goal.

With the exception of Giant Jungle, three M-Tokens are present in every level. If the player collects all three M-Tokens within a level and completes the level, a Star is earned for that level, which allows the player to unlock new game modes and Minis for the Toy Collection.

If the player places path tiles that form a loop without a Mini inside of the loop, a trash can is created. If the player forms a loop with a Mini inside, a mode known as Loop Up is activated, where the tiles forming the loop rise, any red tiles in the tile pipe turn into purple tiles, and the timer temporarily stops. The player must quickly tap the Touch Screen to boost the Mini's speed, allowing it to collect timers that appear around the loop to earn extra time for the level. This also allows the Mini to reach and collect M-Tokens on clouds. After a certain amount of time, the tiles forming the loop lower back down, and the white path on each tile in the loop turns into a metal path with bolts, indicating the tiles cannot be raised again.

If the player forms a figure-eight loop with a Mini inside, a Bonus Game tile is added to the tile pipe. If a Mini reaches a Bonus Game tile, it is sent to the Bonus Game, where the player can freely control the Mini's direction using the Touch Screen. In the Bonus Game, coins fall from above, which the Mini can collect to earn bonus points. Any M-Tokens still present in the level also appear in the Bonus Game, and can be collected. After a certain amount of time, the Bonus Game ends and the level is automatically completed.

If the player plays the game for a certain length of time, a screen is displayed, reminding the player to take a break before they feel tired.

How to Play
The Main Game menu features a yellow "?" button in the bottom-right corner of the Touch Screen. Tapping this button enters a How to Play mode, where the player can view help messages explaining the game's mechanics. One of these messages can also be viewed in each level by tapping the How to Play button in the top-left corner of the Touch Screen.

Mini Games
After the player completes the first 10 levels of Mario's Main Event, the Mini Games mode is unlocked, where the player can play four minigames.
 * Mini Target Smash: A minigame where the player flings Mini Marios into multiple targets.
 * Fly Guy Grab: A minigame where the player fires a claw at Fly Guys and reels them in to earn points.
 * Cube Crash: A minigame where the player flings Mini Marios into cubes to earn points.
 * Cube Crash 1: The player must destroy a large shape made of cubes.
 * Cube Crash 2: The player must destroy many small shapes made of cubes, which appear one after another.
 * Elevation Station: A minigame where the player must use the Touch Screen to raise and lower a Mini Mario into coins, while avoiding Bullet Bills and Fly Guys.

Create & Share


Create & Share is a mode which allows the player to build and share their own levels, as well as play levels shared by other players, similarly to the Construction Zone mode from previous games in the series.

Toy Collection
As the player earns Stars, new Minis and other toys are unlocked for the Toy Collection. In this mode, the player can view the toys they have unlocked, as well as clean them by rubbing them with the stylus. A toy sparkles and animates if it is completely clean. The player can use the Circle Pad to view a toy from different angles, as well as tap the toy with the stylus, causing it to make a noise. There are a total of 12 toys that can be unlocked.

Playable characters

 * Mini Mario
 * Mini Peach (unlocked after Puzzle Palace is entered the first time)
 * Mini Toad (unlocked after Many Mini Mayhem is entered the first time)
 * Mini Donkey Kong (unlocked after Giant Jungle is entered the first time)
 * Mini Pauline (unlocked by playing each minigame at least once, then entering any mode in Main Game)

Hosts

 * Mario
 * Donkey Kong
 * Pauline

Enemies

 * Shy Guys
 * Catapult Kongs
 * Capture Kongs
 * Fly Guys
 * Bullet Bills

Level elements
A large variety of elements appear in each level. Each level element occupies a single space on the level grid.

Nintendo 3DS eShop description
''Test your puzzle solving skills in this spin-off of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong™ series. Use tiles to create the best path through each level. The main game contains over 180 levels, across four different puzzle modes. Although each mode has a slightly different style of play, they all share the same goal: get the Minis to the star!''
 * American English version

''Take a break from the main game to challenge high scores in four unlockable minigames. Feeling creative? Try your hand at building your own puzzles with an easy-to-use level builder. Once you're done you can play your puzzles and even share them with other players around the world. Access new levels created by fellow users, and save up to an additional 100 puzzles! Plenty of surprises await you in this rich action-puzzle game.'' ''After yet another huge success with the theme park in Mario vs. Donkey Kong™: Mini-Land Mayhem!, the Mario Toy Company decides to host a Mini Toy Carnival this year. This time, however, Donkey Kong has joined with Pauline to run a game arcade inside the carnival.''
 * British English version

''Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move is a charming single-player puzzle game set in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong universe. Several Mario-universe characters appear in this game and of course you will meet Mario and Donkey Kong represented as mechanical clockwork toys.''

This game features a simple-to-use Create & Share mode which allows you to create your own content that you can share with your friends.

Can you help Mario and his friends in this great puzzle game?