The Matching Game is a minigame in Super Mario Bros. 3. Mario or Luigi can play it from automatically entering a N-Mark Spade Panel on the world map. The Matching Game is hosted by a Toad.
Gameplay[]
There are eighteen cards flipped over, and the player has to try and flip over nine card pairs, each depicting an item. Each time a card pair is matched, the player wins its depicted prize for their inventory. If the player mismatches twice, the Matching Game ends. Even if the player does not manage to match every card pair, the ones they did match remain flipped over during subsequent plays. Once all nine card pairs have been matched, the cards reset the next time around.
The card pairs include a 10 coin, a 20 coin, two Super Mushrooms, two Fire Flowers, two Starmen, and one 1-Up. In the Super Mario All-Stars version, while the Starman cards use their new design, the Super Mushroom and Fire Flower cards retain their original designs, although the former had its colors inverted.
Possible layouts[]
Before the Matching Game is first played, it randomly selects one of eight predefined configurations. The fourth, fifth, and sixth cards from the left on the bottom row are always a Super Mushroom, a Fire Flower, and a Starman, respectively.
Trivia[]
Toad giving Mario instructions on how to play the Matching Game, with the second sentence featuring "you're" misspelled as "your"
- In early copies of Super Mario Bros. 3, when the Toad gives instructions for playing the Matching Game, he says, "Flip over any two cards and see if they match. Miss twice and your[sic] out!" with "your" being a misspelling of "you're." This would eventually be fixed in later copies, in which the second sentence instead reads, "You can only miss twice!" However, the Super Mario All-Stars remake retains the original message, including its typo. Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 retains the same message, but with the spelling mistake fixed.
 
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| Characters | Protagonists | Mario • Luigi |
| Other characters | Kings • Princess Toadstool | |
| Bosses | Boom Boom • Bowser • Koopalings (Larry Koopa • Iggy Koopa • Lemmy Koopa • Ludwig von Koopa • Morton Koopa • Roy Koopa • Wendy Koopa) | |
| Enemies | Enemies | Angry Sun • Baby Cheep • Big Bertha • Blooper • Baby Blooper • Blooper Nanny • Bob-omb • Boo Buddy • Boomerang Bro • Boss Bass • Bullet Bill • Buster Beetle • Buzzy Beetle • Chain Chomp • Cheep-Cheep • Colossal Koopa Paratroopa • Dry Bones • Fiery Walking Piranha • Fire Bro • Fire Chomp • Fire Snake • Gargantuan Koopa Troopa • Goomba • Grand Goomba • Hammer Bro • Hanging Piranha Plant • Hot Foot • Jelectro • Koopa Paratroopa • Koopa Troopa • Kuribo's Goomba • Lakitu • Lava Lotus • Micro-Goomba • Missile Bill • Muncher • Nipper Plant • Para-Beetle • Para-Goomba • Pile Driver Micro-Goomba • Piranha Plant • Piranhacus Giganticus • Podoboo • Ptooie • Rocky Wrench • Scattering Blooper • Sledge Brother • Spike • Spiny Cheep-Cheep • Spiny • Spiny Egg • Stretch • Thwomp • Venus Fire Trap |
| Items | Power-ups | Fire Flower • Frog Suit • Hammer Suit • Kuribo Shoe • Mushroom Coin* • Starman • Super Mushroom • Super Leaf • Tanooki Suit |
| Map | Anchor • Hammer • Lakitu's Cloud • Music Box • P-Wing • Warp Whistle | |
| Level | 1-Up Mushroom • Coin • Magic Ball • Magic Wand • Silver Coin | |
| Worlds | World 1 | World 1-1 • World 1-2 • World 1-3 • World 1-4 • World 1- • World 1-5 • World 1-6 • World 1-
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| World 2 | World 2-1 • World 2-2 • World 2- • World 2-3 • World 2- • World 2-4 • World 2-5 • World 2- • World 2-
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| World 3 | World 3-1 • World 3-2 • World 3-3 • World 3- • World 3-4 • World 3-5 • World 3-6 • World 3-7 • World 3- • World 3-8 • World 3-9 • World 3-
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| World 4 | World 4-1 • World 4-2 • World 4-3 • World 4- • World 4-4 • World 4-5 • World 4-6 • World 4- • World 4-
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| World 5 | World 5-1 • World 5-2 • World 5-3 • World 5- • World 5- • World 5-4 • World 5-5 • World 5-6 • World 5-7 • World 5- • World 5-8 • World 5-9 • World 5-
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| World 6 | World 6-1 • World 6-2 • World 6-3 • World 6- • World 6-4 • World 6-5 • World 6-6 • World 6-7 • World 6- • World 6-8 • World 6-9 • World 6-10 • World 6- • World 6-
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| World 7 | World 7-1 • World 7-2 • World 7-3 • World 7-4 • World 7-5 • World 7- • World 7- • World 7-6 • World 7-7 • World 7-8 • World 7-9 • World 7- • World 7- • World 7-
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| World 8 | World 8- • World 8- • World 8- • World 8- • World 8-1 • World 8-2 • World 8- • World 8- • World 8-
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| Other locations | Other locations | Enemy Course • Panel (N-Mark Spade Panel · Spade Panel · Start Panel) • Toad House • Treasure Ship |
| Forms | Forms | Small Mario • Super Mario • Fire Mario • Raccoon Mario • Frog Mario • Tanooki Mario (Statue Mario) • Hammer Mario • Invincible Mario |
| Objects | Regular | ? Block • Big Block • Bolt Lift • Brick Block • Buzzy Beetle Shell • Card • Cloud Block • Cloud Lift • Coin Block • Coral • Directional Lift • Donut Lift • Empty Block • Flimsy Lift • Frozen Coin • Giant Green Shell • Giant Red Shell • Goal • Green Shell • Hidden Block • Ice Block • Jump Block • Lift • Magic Ball • Magic Door • Magic Note Block • Mega ? Block • P Warp Door • Quicksand • Red Shell • Rotary Lift • Semisolid Platform • Spiny Shell • Switch Block • Tank • Track • Treasure box • Vine • Warp Door • Warp Pipe • Wood Block |
| Obstacles | Bowser Statue • Candy Ring • Cannon • Cannonball • Giant Cannonball • Lava • Pit • Rocket Engine • Roto-Disc • Spike • Tornado • Turtle Cannon | |
| World-e-exclusive | Levels | 01: Classic World 1-1 • 02: Classic World 1-2 • 03: Classic World 1-3 • 04: Classic World 1-4 • 05: Classic World 2-2 • 01: Wild Ride in the Sky • 02: Slidin' the Slopes • 03: Vegetable Volley • 04: Doors o' Plenty • 05: Bombarded by Bob-ombs • 06: Magical Note Blocks • 07: The ol' Switcheroo • 08: Piped Full of Plants • 09: Swinging Bars of Doom • 10: Para Beetle Challenge • 11: A Musical Trek • 12: Armored Airship • 13: Ice Dungeon • 14: A Sky-High Adventure • 15: Sea to Sky • 16: It's a Shoe-In • 17: Slip Slidin' Away • 18: Ice Cubed • 19: Puzzling Pipe Maze • 20: A Towering Tour • 21: Castle Dash • 22: Rich with Ropes • 23: Vexing Doors • 24: Caped Escape • 25: Ground Work • 26: An Aqueous Adventure • 27: Bowser's Last Stand • 28: Koopaling Confusion • 29: Bowser's Airship 1 • 30: Bowser's Airship 2 • Airship's Revenge • No Time to Dawdle • Treacherous Halls |
| Enemies and obstacles | Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother • Big Boo • Bony Beetle • Bowser Statue (Super Mario World) • Bumpty • Chargin' Chuck • Fake Bowser (boss) • Falling spike • Fire-Bar • Flurry • Goomba (Super Mario World) • Hoopster • Hothead • Jumping Piranha Plant • Lil Sparky • Magikoopa • Monty Mole • Para-Goomba (Super Mario World) • Porcupo • Rip Van Fish • Spike Top • Thwimp • Wiggler | |
| Items | 3-Up Moon • Advance Coin • Boomerang • Cape Feather • e-Coin • Poisonous Mushroom | |
| Objects | ! Switch • Axe • Balance Lift • Bubble • Control Coin • Dotted-Line Block • Flagpole • Flipper • Giant Gate • Grass • Gray Brick Block • Key • Key Door • Power Meter Block • Rotating Block • Roulette Block • Seesaw • Snake Block • Soft sand • Springboard • Stretch Block • Triangular Block • Vanishing Block • Vegetable | |
| Switch Cards | 1UP Kinoko ga 3UP Moon ni kawaru! • Blue Green Switch • Luigi Power Up! • Orange Switch • Sugu ni mantan! Power Meter!! • Teki Power Up! Tokuten x2!! • Timer yukkuri! | |
| Minigames | Blue Mushroom House • Orange Mushroom House • Red Mushroom House | |
| Other | Caped Mario • e-Coin Castle | |
| Terms | Terms | Completion • Game Over • Extra life • P-Meter • Time limit • Unwinnable state |
| Other | Other | Gallery (Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3) • Matching Game |