Nintendo Badge Arcade

Nintendo Badge Arcade is a free-to-start application available from the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS. The game involves collecting badges in various Nintendo-themed crane game-like minigames, which can be used to customize the 3DS Home Menu. It was first released in December 2014 in Japan, and almost a year later in the west.

Gameplay
The game takes place in a digital arcade hosted by a pink rabbit called the Sales Bunny. The main hall is the menu of the game, where the player can select one of the various modes. From the main hall, the player can press to access one of the modes, press  to place badges, press  to view their collection, and use  and, the , or the  to navigate modes.

To earn credits to play on the badge-catcher crane machines, the player can pay real money or earn free plays. Five credits cost ¥90 in Japan, $1.00 in North America, £0.90 in the United Kingdom, and $1.30 in Australia. The player must have the funds in their Nintendo eShop account in order to purchase plays with real money; a Nintendo eShop Card or credit card is needed to add funds to the account. The player can earn free credits by playing the Practice Catcher once a day, or by receiving them as a gift on special occasions; first-time players receive five, free plays. At certain times, the bunny will offer the player the option of increasing the number of plays to purchase at one time. The player can return to the original payment structure by tapping the bunny on the touch-screen and adjusting the Bundle setting.

The player can use badges to decorate the HOME Menu on their 3DS by placing them in open slots or on folders next to the software icons; some badges also serve as software icons. The player can also use themes to customize the look of the HOME Menu; themes change the Menu's background and look of the folders.

Players' progress is saved automatically at specific times; such as whenever a play is completed on a badge catcher. During a play, if the system is turned off, loses power, or loses the Internet connection, the player can lose progress made since the last save as well as any remaining plays. Progress cannot be restored, and lost plays cannot be refunded.

Badge Catchers
The Badge Catchers mode has a variety of catchers based on Nintendo franchises, such as Super Mario and Animal Crossing. To control the crane, the player must press and hold or the yellow button on the touch-screen to move it left. Releasing the button will drop the crane and, if successful, collect any badges within its range. There are different kinds of crane-machines, as well, including a hammer and a bomb. After the player has used one of the catchers, they can swap to a different one for the next turn by pressing or  between plays. The player can press to return to the main hall; once a number of plays of have been started, the player must use them all before returning.

The contents of the badge catcher can also be reset by tapping the bunny and asking him to reset them. When a badge catcher's contents are reset, all badges still in the machine will be returned to their original positions and new copies of any badges the player has caught will be used to restock the machine; resetting does not affect the players collection of caught badges.

Additional Modes
The Collection mode is where the player can see all of the badges they've collected so far. The player can view the number of badges owned, sets started, sets completed, and which category a set belongs to.

The Practice Catcher mode is a daily practice-version of a badge-catcher. Once a day, the player is given five plays on a featured, practice catcher to play on for free. In this mode, the badges are replaced with practice badges made of wood, and there is sometimes a "super bonus" badge in the group of badges. The super bonus has a red target printed on the hidden side, making it a game of chance. If the player catches the super bonus, they earn three, free play-credits to use in Badge Catchers. The player can also earn free plays by catching 10 practice badges.

The Miiverse Gallery mode has posts that players have made to Miiverse to show their customized Home Menus. It is a curated space, so posts are chosen and recommended by Nintendo.

The Theme Shop is a section of the arcade that can be accessed if the player has completed the objectives for a "special offer". The special offers are timed events where the player will need to buy a certain number of plays during a period of time in order to receive the bonus theme being promoted.

The Help Desk is a section of the arcade where the player can change the categories in their badge box, access the newsletter, or find out about info sharing. The player can also find out about badge problems, transferring data, and access the digital, instruction manual.