Bonus game (Super Mario Land)

The bonus game is a minigame in Super Mario Land in which the player can win extra lives or a Superball Flower. It consists of four floors, at the end of each of which is either a number of extra lives to win (from one to three) or a Superball Flower. If the player is already Superball Mario and gets the Superball Flower, it has an alarm sound indicating the player can't accept the prize. At the left side of the screen, Mario quickly changes the floors automatically, while in the middle a ladder is doing the same. Pressing a button will stop both Mario and the ladder. Depending on their positions, Mario will head right and get the extra lives or the power-up at the end of the floor. The maximum number of extra lives is 3. If he passes the ladder on his way, he will take it up or down, respectively, and then continue on the new floor.

At the end of each level of Super Mario Land, except for boss levels, there is a goal tower with two entrances. Mario is only able to play the bonus game when using the upper entrance, which is usually harder to reach than the lower one. The bonus game will also start after each boss level.