You are always Mario, and you are always small. So, you will lose a life everytime you touch an enemy or obstacle. Beware! You can get more lives through bonus games (which act as phases).

When you jump and bop the floor above you, it will dent temporarily. Basically, you have to bop the floor under an enemy to flip the enemy over, then run up and touch the enemy to kick it, or in other words, defeat it. If you can defeat two enemies quickly, you get 3x points (2400). Do it with three (difficult) to get 7x points (5600)! It can keep going, but its hard to do that. Why? Well, if enemies stay flipped for too long, they will get back up.

When an enemy gets back up, it will change colors and move faster. If it gets back up too much, it will become very fast. Also, when there is only one enemy left, it will turn blue and go very, very fast to increase difficulty. This is especially difficult with crabs and spinys.

Depending on which part of the enemy you bop, the enemy will fall in a different direction. Bop closer to one side of the enemy to hit it in the opposite direction. If an enemy is moving faster, they will fall farther in that direction. Try to flip them off a platform and kick them in the air. It increases the speed of the match.

When you defeat an enemy, a coin will appear from a pipe and roll along the platforms. If you grab it, its the equivilant of defeating the enemy (same amount of points). You can also bop them to obtain them.

In bonus rounds, your goal is to collect every coin on the screen before the time runs out. If you succeed, you obtain an extra life and a lot of extra points. Try to win the bonus rounds; they aren't that hard. Eventually, the difficulty will slightly increase. How? Less time, slippery platforms, invisible platforms, etc.

Speaking of slippery platforms ... platforms will eventually get ice on them as the game gets harder. Ice is very, very slippery and hard to stop/turn on. That's why its best to stop and turn by jumping. You can't slide that way. Certain enemies can make platforms slippery. Under slippery platforms, ice sicles will also form and fall. They can be defeated, but its not recommended. How? Jump into them as they are forming. This is risky because, if they form at the exact moment you jump into them, it will kill you.

If you stand on one place for too long, a fireball will appear and raid that row of platforms. Try to move around a lot to avoid these fireballs; they can get very annoying.

There are also POW blocks on the stages. If you bop a POW block, every enemy on the ground will flip. This is helpful when there are enemies everywhere, but don't waste them! Each POW block can be bopped 3 times, and there are two in the area. I don't use them often. You can stand on POW blocks to avoid enemies as well, but fireballs will most likely get you eventually.

There is more information found in the other sections. Please check them out. Remember, MBC never ends, so don't expect to finish it. Feel good if you manage to get to Phase 20 or 30, because it gets rather difficult by then. Eventually, you'll be able to reach Phase 99 and call yourself a master!