Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars is an action-puzzle game for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, released in March 2015. It is the sixth entry in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series and the first to appear on a home console, following on from the DS’s Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!

The series’ signature twist is that you don’t control Mario directly. Instead, you guide a procession of wind-up Mini toys — which march forward automatically, Lemmings-style — safely to the Goal Door by placing and manipulating items like girders, springs, and conveyors using the touchscreen or GamePad. Tipping Stars returns to the 2D side-view of the earlier games.

Its defining features are the robust Workshop level editor and a strong focus on community level sharing: players uploaded their custom stages via Miiverse and rewarded each other with stars (the game’s currency, used to “tip” creators and unlock new building parts). It was also a notable early cross-buy title — purchasing one version granted a free download code for the other.

As in previous Mario vs. Donkey Kong games, Pauline is once again kidnapped by Donkey Kong — though this time, amusingly, no real motivation is given. Mario sets off in pursuit with his Mini Mario toys to rescue her, freeing cursed Mini Mario toys along the way.

After traversing six puzzle-filled worlds, Mario catches up to Donkey Kong and Pauline in a darkened room — only for the lights to flick on and reveal Pauline, Donkey Kong, and two Toads throwing him a surprise party. With Pauline safe (and never actually in danger), Mario can carry on through additional worlds and bonus levels just for the challenge.

Each level tasks you with guiding one or more Minis from their starting point to the Goal Door. The Minis behave predictably — and learning that behaviour is the key to every puzzle.

How the Minis Move

• They start inactive; tapping one sets it walking forward
• They walk forward, step up one-block ledges, slide down steep slopes, and reverse direction at walls or when bumping into each other
• They use any item or object they touch automatically
• With no ground beneath them, they fall straight down; landing on another Mini makes them bounce

Building the Path

You’re given a limited supply of items to place — Red Girders (draw pathways between rivets), springs, conveyors, blue lifts, and more — which can be drawn, dragged, and removed on the touchscreen in real time as the Minis march. The challenge is doing it in the shortest, most efficient way to maximise your score before the timer runs down.

The stars of the title are the game’s core reward and currency. Each level gives a trophy ranking (bronze, silver, or gold) based on your score, and each trophy earns you a star — so a gold trophy means a full three-star rating for that level.

Scoring

• Small coins — 100 points; big coins — 1,000 points
• M Coin — one per level, worth 2,000 points
• Collect every coin in a level — a 6,000-point bonus
• Time bonus — every second left on the timer is worth 20 points

A total of 267 stars can be earned in the main game. Before Miiverse shut down, players could earn additional stars as tips from others for their uploaded levels. Stars are spent to tip fellow creators and to unlock new parts and Minis in the Workshop Store.

The Workshop is the game’s powerful built-in level editor — a major part of the experience and a clear forerunner of the create-and-share ethos that Super Mario Maker would popularise the same year.

• Full level design — place terrain, items, enemies, coins, Minis, and the Goal Door using the touchscreen
• Workshop Store — spend stars to unlock additional parts and new Mini types to build with
• Test & refine — play your creation, tweak it, and perfect the solution before sharing

The Community features were Tipping Stars’ most forward-thinking element. Through Miiverse integration, players could upload their Workshop creations for anyone to download and play, and browse a constant stream of community-made levels.

• Share & download — publish your levels and play an endless supply of others’
• Tipping — reward creators of levels you enjoyed with stars
• Cross-platform — the shared community spanned both Wii U and 3DS players

The cast is built around the Mini toys — the wind-up figures that are the real stars of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. Mario and Donkey Kong themselves are only titular here, appearing in the title screen and a few cutscenes.

Mini Mario

The classic wind-up toy and series mascot. The most common Mini you’ll guide.

Mini Luigi

Debuts in this game. A new green Mini toy joining the line-up for the first time.

Mini Peach

The Mini Pauline/Peach-style toy, one of the variety of Minis with shared behaviour.

Mini Donkey Kong

Receives a redesign for this entry. Another of the playable Mini types.

Key Mini Mario

A special Mini that carries a key, used to unlock the path in certain puzzle levels.

All Minis share the same behaviour — walking, climbing one-block steps, sliding down steep slopes, reversing at walls, and using objects on contact. The supporting cast (Mario, Donkey Kong, Pauline, and a couple of Toads) appears only in the brief cutscenes. Mario can even be heard cheering “Way to go!” when you collect every coin in a level.

The game contains eight main worlds (six standard plus two extra), each introducing a new mechanic and containing eight levels. The final level of each world centres on freeing a Cursed Mini Mario.

Beyond the main game, there are 24 additional Bonus Levels to unlock — one for every four gold trophies earned (then one per gold trophy from B-21 onward). Unlocking them all requires 87 gold trophies, and the Bonus Levels are markedly tougher than the main game. Each main world also themes two consecutive Bonus Levels.

Tipping Stars’ puzzles revolve around its objects, split into four broad categories: collectibles (grabbed by Minis), resource items (placed/dragged by the player), fixed objects (manipulated to help Minis advance), and Donkey Kong’s robots (large toys that help or hinder). The two brand-new objects this entry are the Cannon Kong and the Blue Lift.

• Red Girders — the signature tool: draw walkable pathways between rivets to route the Minis
• Blue Lifts & conveyors — move Minis vertically or horizontally across gaps
• Springs, pipes & split pipes — launch or teleport Minis around the stage
• Color Switches & magnet ground — toggle elements on and off to change the route
• Spikes & hazards — obstacles that destroy a Mini on contact
• Goal Door — every Mini must reach it to clear the level

Donkey Kong’s robots and various foes populate the levels, each affecting Minis that collide with them. They can be temporarily stunned by Minis wielding Hammers, letting the toys slip past.

• Cannon Kong — a new robot that fires Minis across the stage like a cannon
• Capture Kong — grabs and holds Minis that wander into it
• Fire Piranha Plant — a classic Mario hazard that spits fire to block the Minis’ path
• Plus a range of other Donkey Kong robots and hazards, all of which can help or impede depending on placement

Tipping Stars was developed by Nintendo Software Technology (NST), Nintendo’s US-based studio, which had handled the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series.

• First surfaced at GDC 2014 as a Wii U web-framework tech demo, then formally announced with an E3 2014 trailer.
• Pioneering cross-buy — one of Nintendo’s first cross-buy titles: buy either the Wii U or 3DS version and get a download code for the other free.
• Digital-only in most regions (Japan got physical cases with download codes).
• Followed in 2016 by Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge, a related Wii U/3DS title.

Official Nintendo trailers for Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars received mixed-to-positive reviews, with particular praise for its online and community features.

Critical Reception

• Online & community praised — reviewers called Nintendo “surprisingly forward-thinking,” highlighting how the Miiverse integration created a genuine “community feel” and a slick, easy-to-use level-sharing interface
• Challenging puzzles — the core puzzle-platforming and the depth of the Workshop were well received
• Soundtrack — singled out by TrustedReviews as “uniformly superb”
• Graphics criticised — some reviewers felt the visuals were plain, reminiscent of generic mobile games
• Scores landed around 4/5 (TrustedReviews) and 8/10 (Nintendo Life), with the create-and-share loop seen as the heart of the experience

Sales

Commercially, the game struggled — it’s cited as one of the worst-selling Mario games of all time, with only around 40,000 copies sold, likely hampered by its digital-only release and niche puzzle genre.

• The 200th game ever to feature Mario — a milestone title for the franchise.
• One of the worst-selling Mario games of all time, with only about 40,000 copies sold.
• Sixth Mario vs. Donkey Kong game, and the first in the series on a home console.
• A pioneering cross-buy title — buy either the Wii U or 3DS version and get the other free via download code.
• Mini Luigi debuts, and Mini Donkey Kong gets a redesign.
• The “kidnapping” is a fake-out — Donkey Kong was throwing Mario a surprise party all along.
• 267 stars can be earned in the main game; plus 24 Bonus Levels requiring 87 gold trophies to fully unlock.
• Returns to the 2D side-view Mini-Land Mayhem gameplay, after the 3DS’s top-down Minis on the Move.
• Workshop & Miiverse sharing made it a create-and-share game months before Super Mario Maker.
• Cannon Kong and Blue Lift are the two brand-new objects introduced this entry.
• Online services have ended — Miiverse sharing closed in November 2017 and Nintendo Network in April 2024.
• Followed by Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge (2016).

Box art for both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS cross-buy versions.

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