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.

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 from previous games in the series. All custom levels follow the rules of Mario's Main Event.
 * My Levels: The player can view and play levels that they have made. Tapping a New button highlights it; tapping it again opens the Level Editor.
 * Find Levels: The player can connect online to find levels that other players have shared. Each level has a 12-digit ID number. The player can play these levels or save them to their Saved Levels.
 * Top Weekly: Levels with a high popularity rating made in the past seven days.
 * Random: Levels chosen at random.
 * Popular: Levels with the highest popularity ratings of all time.
 * Friends: Levels made by players on a player's Friend List.
 * Saved Levels: The player can play any levels that they have saved.
 * Settings: The player can access Create & Share Settings.
 * Edit User Name: The player can change their user name.
 * Clear Create & Share Data: The player can clear all levels in My Levels and Saved Levels.

Level Editor
In the Level Editor, the player can build their own level by placing tiles into a grid. Each new level starts from a grid with a start tile, the goal, and three M-Tokens. These elements are required in every level, and cannot be removed. A variety of buttons are available on the right side of the Touch Screen:
 * Green tab: A tab with a red tile icon. Tapping it allows the player to select a level element, which they can then place into the level grid. The player can tap Red tiles placed on the grid do not appear in a level during gameplay; instead, they can be used to visualize a fully formed path between a Mini and the goal.
 * Blue tab: A tab with a wrench icon. Tapping it allows the player to access tools:
 * Move: Allows the player to move tiles by tapping and dragging them.
 * Erase: Allows the player to remove tiles by tapping them.
 * Rotate: Allows the player to rotate certain tiles by 90 degrees at a time by tapping them.
 * Resize: Allows the player to resize the level grid by tapping and dragging its corners.
 * Reset: Allows the player to reset the level back to the default template.
 * Yellow arrow buttons: The left arrow button allows the player to undo their previous actions, while the right arrow button allows the player to redo such actions.
 * Gear: A red button with a gear icon. Tapping this button allows the player to access level settings.
 * Save & Test: Allows the player to name their level, set a time limit for the level (from 30 to 300 seconds, in increments of 10 seconds), and save the level. The player can then test their level. If the player completes their level with all three M-Tokens, the player can share their level online.
 * Tile Control: Allows the player to determine which tiles appear in the tile pipe, as well as how often they appear. The player can choose between None, Some, and Many for each type of red tile, bomb tiles, and trash cans, as well as reset all options to their defaults.
 * Exit Editor: Allows the player to quit the Level Editor, with or without saving their level.

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.