Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move

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Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move
For alternate box art, see the game's gallery.
Developers	Nintendo Software Technology Corporation Nintendo SPD Group No.3
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform	Nintendo 3DS
Release date	Template:Release[?]
Languages	English (United States) English (United Kingdom) Japanese French (Canada) French (France) German Italian Spanish (Latin America) Spanish (Spain)
Genre	Puzzle
Rating	ESRB: - Everyone[?] PEGI: - Three years and older[?] CERO: - All ages[?] ACB: - General[?] USK: - All ages[?]
Mode	Single-player
Format	Nintendo 3DS: Digital download
Input	Nintendo 3DS: Gamepad
Serial code	CTR-JB7E-USA (U.S.)

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 27, 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?

Gameplay

Main Game

A Mini Mario traveling through a level in Mario's Main Event

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.

A Mini Mario collecting coins in the Bonus Game

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.

Title	Message
1. Mario's Main Event Rules	Drag tiles from the tile pipe to make a path to the goal!
2. Watch Out!	Don't... - Fall off the edge - Block the Minis' path - Overfill the tile pipe
3. Next Button	Tap the next tile to drop it into the tile pipe on the right.
4. Bomb Tile	Use the bomb tile to remove tiles you've placed.
5. Speed Boost	Tap a Mini to give it a quick boost.
6. Trash Can	Drag tiles you don't need into the trash can. Fill it up to get a magic tile!
7. Magic Tile	Fill up a trash can to receive a magic tile, which can create paths between two or more pieces.
8. Multiple Solutions	Levels can be solved in multiple ways. Experiment to find your favorite.
9. Locked Goal	Use a key to open a locked goal.
10. Cross Tile	Use a cross tile to create an intersection.
11. Loop Up	Earn time by creating a loop for the Minis.
12. Purple Tiles	Creating a loop replaces red tiles in the tile pipe with purple tiles, which can be placed over other tiles!
13. Figure-Eight Loop	Make a figure-eight loop to get a Bonus Game tile!
14. Shy Guy & Hammer	Use hammers to defeat Shy Guys.
15. Pivot Tile	Tap to rotate pivot tiles.
16. Loop to Trash Can	Make a loop without a Mini on it to create a trash can.
17. Spring	A spring tile will launch a Mini over a single tile.
18. Catapult Kong	A Catapult Kong throws a Mini in one direction over two tiles.
19. Warp Pipe	Warp Pipes transport a Mini from one place to another.
20. Roadblock	Use roadblocks to reverse a Mini's direction.
21. Conveyor	Conveyors move a Mini in one direction. Tap the conveyor switch to reverse the conveyor's direction.
22. Puzzle Palace Rules	Use all the tiles to find the best path.
23. Many Mini Mayhem Rule 1	Use pivot tiles to get all the Minis to the goal.
24. Many Mini Mayhem Rule 2	Move tiles to get all the Minis to the goal.
25. Many Mini Mayhem Rule 3	If two or more Minis reach the goal in a row, you'll earn chain bonuses!
26. Capture Kong	Capture Kong loves to capture Minis. Use the hammer to rescue them!
27. Giant Jungle Rules	Collect Stars and reach the goal! Use , , or /// to view different parts of the level.

Mini Games

A Mini Mario about to be launched at a cube in Cube Crash 1

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 menu

Main article: Construction Zone § Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move

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

The completed 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.

Toy	Stars to unlock
Mini Mario	0
Mini Peach	20
Mini Toad	30
Mini DK	50
Red Mini Shy Guy	60
Capture Kong	70
Green Mini Fly Guy	90
Catapult Kong	100
Blue Mini Fly Guy	120
Mini Pauline	150
Gold Mini Fly Guy	200
Gold Mini Mario	230

Characters

Playable characters

The Minis

• 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.

	Name	Function
	Start pipe	The tile where Minis begin the level from. If a Mini returns to this tile, it will simply reverse direction.
	Goal	A level is completed once all Minis in the level reach the goal. Sometimes, the goal is locked and requires a key to open.
	Basic tile	An indestructible tile that forms a path, which Minis can walk on to travel across levels.
	Cross tile	A tile that forms an intersection, allowing it to be accessed from any direction. It can appear before the start of a level or be placed by the player.
	M-Token	Collecting all three M-Tokens in a level earns a Star for that level. Some M-Tokens float on clouds, and can only be collected by forming a loop.
	Red tile	A tile that can be placed by the player to form a path for Minis to walk on.
	Spikes	Spikes are indestructible hazards that destroy a Mini upon contact, causing the player to lose the level.
	Bomb tile	A tile that can destroy a red tile it is placed over.
	Trash can	Tiles in the tile pipe can be discarded by dragging them into a trash can. If the number on the trash can reaches 0, it turns into a magic tile, which becomes the next tile to be added to the tile pipe. Forming a loop without a Mini on it creates a trash can.
	Magic tile	A tile that automatically changes its form to create paths between two or more tiles when placed.
	Key	A Mini must pick up a key to open a locked goal.
	Purple tile	Purple tiles replace red tiles if a loop is created. They can be placed over red tiles.
	Bonus Game tile	A tile which is added to the tile pipe if a figure-eight loop is formed, and can be placed over red tiles. If a Mini reaches it, the Mini is sent to the Bonus Game.
	Hammers	Hammers can be picked up by Minis to defeat Shy Guys and temporarily disable Catapult Kongs.
	Shy Guy	An enemy that usually remains in place, but can move along a path in some levels. It causes a Mini to break upon contact, but can be defeated by a Mini with hammers.
	Pivot tile	A tile that forms a curved path and can be rotated 90 degrees by tapping on it.
	Spring tile	A cross-shaped tile that can launch a Mini over a single tile. Its spring resembles a Blue Spring.
	Catapult Kong	Donkey Kong's robot that can launch a Mini in a single direction over two tiles. It can be temporarily disabled by a Mini with hammers.
	Warp Pipe	A Warp Pipe transports a Mini to another Warp Pipe of the same color.
	Roadblock	A roadblock causes a Mini to reverse direction upon contact.
	Conveyor	A conveyor forces a Mini to move in a certain direction.
	Conveyor switch	If the player taps a conveyor switch, it reverses the direction of any conveyors in the level.
	Capture Kong	Donkey Kong's robot that only appears in Many Mini Mayhem. It travels along a path, and can capture Minis upon contact. A Mini with hammers can temporarily disable a Capture Kong, freeing any Minis it has captured.

Profiles

• Nintendo 3DS eShop

American English

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! 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.

British English

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.

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?

Reception

Reviews
Release	Reviewer, Publication	Score	Comment
Nintendo 3DS	Lucas M. Thomas, IGN	7/10	"The default game mode of Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move is little more than a Nintendo-themed reskin of the 25-year-old Pipe Mania, and frustrates with its randomness. The much better Puzzle Palace and Many Mini Mayhem modes, thankfully, leave us with a good game overall. Use of more appropriate characters, better handling of the random tile dispenser, and a more robust Create & Share mode might've made this one something truly memorable."
Nintendo 3DS	Dan Whitehead, Eurogamer	8/10	"Minis on the Move is a thoughtfully constructed puzzle game, built around an appealingly simple premise that then gets reexamined and evolved in multiple ingenious ways. More than that, it shows Nintendo adapting to changes in the online and mobile market that suggest the best is yet to come."
Nintendo 3DS	Tony Ponce, Destructoid	9/10	"A part of me misses the classic arcade action that seemed poised to make a comeback at the start of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, but I'm still glad Nintendo decided to explore new avenues for the Minis. Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move retains some of the Lemming-like quality of the more recent MvsDK titles, but the drastic changes to the gameplay have resulted in a faster, more free-form experience. It can be as simple or as mind-bending as you want it to be; either way, you'll be satisfied for many hours on end."
Aggregators
Compiler		Platform / Score
Metacritic		78
GameRankings		79.36%

Staff

Main article: List of Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move staff

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move.

• 

  Mario and Mini Donkey Kong

• 

  Pauline and Donkey Kong

• 

  M-Token

• 

  Platform

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes

External links

• American website
• British English website
• Oceanian website
• Japanese website