How to Increase Your Chances of Winning at Super Mario Bros. 35: An Illustrated Guide (Patreon)

On October 1st, 2020, Super Mario Bros. 35, an online multiplayer version of Super Mario Bros., was released. The game immediately became popular, but there was one issue: it was published without any guides or instructions, leaving the player base to figure out the game's mechanics on their own. I have decided to create a guide for those who wish to improve their chances of winning matches in this game using strategies for each timer phase, as well as images of every single hidden power-up, secret area, or Multi-Coin Block in the game.

But first, my credentials - after all, you would be rightfully skeptical of a random person on the Internet purporting to create a guide to win at a competitive game. In addition to being an all-around Mario enthusiast, I have been playing Super Mario Bros. for 30 years. After formulating the strategies in this guide and applying them during gameplay, I was able to win the majority of the matches I played, and place 2nd in the rest:

I have also briefly placed in the Top 100 in the leaderboards, or at least until they were overrun with cheaters using hacks to give themselves 99,999 coins, pushing all legitimate players off the charts. Last I have seen, Nintendo has been removing these from the leaderboards, so it may turn out to only be a temporary problem.

If you believe these qualify me to give advice on the game, here is the short version of the guide, which is followed by an elaboration, and afterwards, a course-by-course breakdown:

Elaboration

Selecting a Course

The first thing you are faced with after selecting 35-Player Battle is the "Select a Course" screen. (If you are playing the Special Battle mode, this is skipped and everyone is given a predetermined playlist and power-up. More on what a "playlist" is later.) When you start playing Super Mario Bros. 35, only 1-1 is unlocked. Courses are unlocked in one of two ways: by clearing them during a match - note that they must actually be cleared, not merely encountered, to count (i.e. you may not lose the game, or even WIN the game, while still inside the course); and by clearing every course before them.

So, for example, if you have cleared 1-1, 1-2, and 2-1, then outside of these three, 1-3 will also be unlocked, as it is the earliest course that has not been cleared yet. Only the earliest course not cleared will be unlocked; it does not matter how many later courses are cleared.

Here is how the game decides which courses you will encounter: since every player must select one course, there will be a list of 35 courses. The game shuffles them into a playlist. The playlist is the same for every player; each of them will see the same courses in the same order during a match (unless a Warp Zone is used, more on those later). The exact algorithm for the playlist generation is yet unknown as the game has only been out for days, but it appears to heavily favor early-game courses for the front of the playlist and late-game courses for the back, although if there are more early-game courses than late-game, they will be interspersed with the ones in the back.

Here is a typical playlist to illustrate this:

1-1, 1-2, 1-1, 1-3, 1-2, 2-1, 1-2, 1-4, 1-1, 3-1,
1-2, 2-1, 2-2, 1-4, 2-4, 1-1, 1-3, 3-2, 4-2, 1-1,
4-1, 2-1, 1-1, 2-3, 6-1, 1-2, 1-1, 3-3, 3-4, 1-2,
7-1, 5-2, 1-2, 8-1, 1-1

Nearly every match will have players who wish to unlock new courses and as such select a rare late-game course to do so; these will usually be encountered towards the end of the playlist. Also note that most playlist will start with 1-1, but not always; especially as the  player base shifts from newcomers who only have 1-1 unlocked to players with more options, the amount of 1-1 entries in the playlist will go down and other courses will be chosen. I have personally experienced 1-2 and 1-4 being chosen as the beginning of the playlist, and I am sure in the coming months courses from worlds other than 1 will become common as well.

The question here is: what course should you pick? If you wish to unlock courses, naturally, choose the one you wish to unlock. You may also use this glitch to access some of the courses you have not even unlocked yet if you feel like unlocking them out of order. However, if you have all courses already unlocked or if you want to maximize your chances of winning, you have two options.

The safe option is to pick 1-2. In addition to offering a wealth of regular coins, a 1-Up Mushroom, three power-ups, a secret area and three Multi-Coin Blocks, it has what is inarguably the most useful mechanic in the entire game: the Warp Zone. Like the Warp Zone in the original Super Mario Bros., which lets you skip to other worlds, the Warp Zone here lets you skip up to 4 entries forward in the playlist. If you wish to unlock a late-game course, using 1-2 several times to skip forward as much as possible may be your only chance to encounter it before you either lose or everyone else loses, making you win (and both are undesirable for unlocking courses).

The less safe but potentially more advantageous option is to pick a late-game course you feel very confident with. If, for example, you feel like you could ace the infamous 8-2 jump, which requires Mario to run over a gap, without ever failing, it would be a good idea to select 8-2. Most other players who will encounter the jump will fail, giving you more chances to win. Same goes for springs and 6-3, Hammer Bros. and 8-3, Bloopers and 7-2, and so on. If you feel like you have a strong point, capitalize on it and select a course that includes as much of it as possible.

(Not) Selecting a Power-Up

On the right of the course selection is the power-up selection, which is activated with X. My advice is to never select any power-ups. One clear advantage of this is that you get a coin bonus at the end of the game if you do so, called the Small Mario Bonus. However, even without it, it is mostly a waste of coins for the following reason: if the first course is 1-1, you should already know how to start it as Small Mario and end it with a Fire Flower without expending any effort. If the first course if not 1-1 and would actually benefit from a power-up... you will not know until the game starts, resulting in a high chance of having wasted your coins.

Targeting

This is the part where you interact with the other players. Much of this mechanic is lifted directly from Tetris 99. Every time you defeat an enemy in any way, a copy of that enemy is sent to whatever player you are targeting. Copies are white and ghostly-looking, but behave exactly like normal enemies. They appear in a "queue" to the right of the player's screen, it needs to scroll to their planned positions for them to appear. Note that all enemies sent to a player who is currently inside a bonus room or Coin Heaven will disappear without ever being loaded, which is another reason to visit those areas.

If a player dies by falling into a pit or touching a regular enemy, that player will get KO'd and half of the coins collected by that player will be added to the treasure chest on the bottom of the screen. The winning player gets the contents of the chest. If the player dies by touching a copy enemy, the player who sent that copy will count as having KO'd that player. The copy-sender will receive half of the KO'd player's coins directly without them going into the chest, and, in addition, will receive the power-ups and a fraction of the remaining time of that player.

There are two modes for targeting: manual (left analog stick) and by category (right analog stick). Manual targeting is high-risk due to you needing to take your eyes off your own screen to see the opponents' screens and deciding who to target. If you are good enough at the game to benefit from manual targeting, you certainly do not need my guide, or any guide for that matter.

Categorized targeting has four modes: random, lowest time, most coins, and attackers. Random simply randomizes the target after each series of enemies you send over. This is the default setting. Lowest time targets the player with the lowest time, which in theory is good as low time would make that player panic and more likely to run into your enemies... until you remember that other players would be targeting that player as well, not really enhancing your chances. Most coin targets the player who currently has the most coins, which again sounds good until you remember that a) that player will be targeted by others, and b) to have the most coins it must be a good player, so the chances of falling to one of your enemies is again low.

The "Attackers" mode is the one I recommend selecting at all times, because it allows you to do something no other mode does: target multiple players at once. If 6 players target you and you defeat a Goomba, six Goomba copies will be created, each sent to one of those players. This drastically improves your chances of actually KO'ing a player through the sheer power of numbers. Especially hard-to-ignore enemies such as Bowser, Hammer Bros. and Lakitus get more KO's by creating multiple copies of them.

First Phase: The Opening

When you start the game, the timer will be ticking down at a rate of one timer unit per second. Appropriately enough for the game's name, everyone starts with 35 seconds. Time can be replenished with the following:

-Collecting a power-up you already have, or a Mushroom while you have a Fire Flower (+15 timer units, also counts when it is obtained from a roulette roll)
-Defeating Bowser with anything but the axe or a Star (+5 timer units)
-Defeating a non-Bowser enemy with fireballs (+1 timer unit)
-Defeating a non-Bowser enemy with Star power (+2 timer units per enemy; if enough of them are defeated in a single line without intervening jumps, the timer will increase by 3 and finally by 4 per enemy. Changing platforms resets this to +2.)
-Defeating a non-Bowser enemy with a Koopa shell (+3 for the first enemy, increases by 1 additional unit until it reaches +11 per enemy)
-Defeating a non-Bowser enemy by stomping (+2 for the first enemy, increases by 1 additional unit per stomp without touching the ground until it reaches +11 per enemy)
-Clearing a course (+15 for touching the top of the flagpole, +5 for touching the flagpole outside the top, +10 for touching the axe at the end of castles, +10 for using a Warp Zone, and additional timer units for each enemy on screen when the course is cleared (+2 for the first, +3 for the second etc. until +11; +10 for each Bowser on screen))
-Rolling a POW Block on the roulette (same as clearing a course per enemy on screen)

The timer maxes out at 400 and cannot be increased further.

In the opening, time is really nothing to worry about (although do note that there is one built-in safeguard against a player stalling and not wanting to move: if the screen does not scroll for a while, the timer will become exponentially faster until the screen scrolls again). If you see a group of Goombas, attempt to stomp them all in a row. If you see a Koopa Troopa in front of a group of enemies, take the time to line up the shell. This alone should give you enough time to concentrate on your actual objective: to obtain as many coins as possible.

Coins are important because they activate the roulette. For 20 coins per roll, you can press X to activate the roulette (and either let it get a result on its own or press X again to stop it earlier). There will be one of four results:

-Super Mushroom: acts like Mario just obtained a Super Mushroom. Pauses the timer (and all movement on screen) for a second if Mario is Small Mario, but does make him lose some momentum if it happens in mid-air, so care is needed. If Mario is already Super Mario or Fire Mario, adds 15 units to the timer.
-Fire Flower: acts like Mario obtained a Fire Flower. Same rules apply as with the Super Mushroom.
-Star: gives Mario a Star. This does not pause the timer. The Star lasts exactly as long as regular Stars.
-POW Block: defeats all enemies on-screen (and a few tiles off-screen), giving you timer units for each enemy defeated.  

The golden rule of roulette usage is: outside of the red timer and endgame phases, only use the roulette when every single outcome would be beneficial. If Mario is small and you want to roll a power-up but the end of the course is coming up, getting a Star would be wasting your money as you would not get a lot of enemy kills out of it, so it is better to wait until the beginning of the next course. The best time to use the roulette is if you are Small Mario, are standing on the left edge of the screen, and the rest of the screen is filled with as many enemies as possible, because this scenario benefits from all outcomes. It may be tempting to use the safety of a bonus room to roll for a power-up, but due to the lack of enemies and a room transition at the end, it completely wastes the Star and POW Block, giving you a 50% chance of wasting your coins.

Here comes the crux of the strategy outlined in this guide: if you want to win, you will likely get to a point in the game where the only way to keep up the timer is to spam roulette rolls at all times. To survive this and have enough coins to outlast the final few opponents, you will need as many coins as possible, so in the first phase, collect every coin you can, including stray single coins you may need to spend some extra time jumping to.

This also means conserving coins, so in the opening phase, try to avoid using the roulette unless absolutely necessary. Most likely, you will be getting early-game courses in the beginning of the playlist, so use the course-by-course guide below to familiarize yourself with all power-ups in them to avoid using the roulette.

Above all else: unless you are in the Endgame phase, there is always time to line up your jumps correctly before a pit. Falling into a pit is an instant loss, while getting over the pit and getting hit by some enemy on the other side can be recovered from. Especially for Bowser's flames, you may want to instinctively pull back when one appears in the middle of your jump. Don't; it is better to take a hit from the flame than to fall into lava trying to avoid it. This can be summarized as "hits before pits". 

Second Phase: The Fast Music

When 5 players are remaining, the "100 seconds remaining" jingle from Super Mario Bros. will play and the music will speed up.

Your strategy should still be to collect as many coins as possible, but with the consideration that the timer is now shifting from "a thing to not worry about" to "a thing to always keep in mind". Thus, stopping halfway through a screen to turn around and get a single coin two ledges up is too frivolous to be spending time on. 

If the timer is above 100 units, then you may act essentially like in the first phase in regards to collecting groups of coins, Multi-Coin Blocks and power-ups. Whenever it drops below 100, you must shift your thinking from getting coins to defeating enemies. Look for opportunities to set up chains of jumps or Koopa Troopa shell combos; you do have time to plan and execute those. If the timer drops below 50, coin collecting can wait until you replenish the timer. 

As you will naturally encounter more difficult courses through the playlist in this phase, you will be tempted to use the coins you have collected on the roulette. Try to keep yourself from spending any more coins than completely necessary. Unless the timer is below 30, there is still time to wait a second or two for an enemy to move out of the way so you do not have to activate the roulette. If the timer is below 30 and you do not see any immediate way to replenish it, approach the largest enemy group you can find and activate the roulette, hoping either for a Star or POW Block. If you get a power-up, run into the enemies and try to defeat as many of them with your invincibility frames as possible.

Third Phase: The Red Timer

Around 12-15 minutes in, the timer will turn red. At first it means 3 timer units pass per second, then 4. Anything above 5 counts at the Endgame phase. 

Now it is no longer the time to stop for coins, or even for some of the power-ups. The roulette will keep you alive. Run through the courses, collecting the coins that are directly in your way or the power-ups and 1-Up Mushrooms that take 1 or 2 seconds to collect, but nothing more. The primary concern is to keep up the timer. If you do not have a Star, search for Koopa Troopas to shoot or at least a group of stompable enemies to combo; if you do have a Star, run as fast as you can, hoping for your opponents to send you as many enemy copies as possible. This means that Stars that can be found in courses are now your highest priority to collect, as that saves you a roulette roll every time.

This does not mean you should be running the roulette all the time; if you are Super Mario, wait until you are either hit or are in a position where every outcome benefits you to activate the roulette again. There is an extra concern that you should keep in mind when the Red Timer phase has gone on for two minutes: at any moment, the Endgame phase could activate. The worst thing to have then is a low timer. Thus, prioritize getting your timer up however you can. If you must choose between getting a 1-Up Mushroom and a Star, get the Star since that will give you more time. 

Fourth Phase: The Endgame

Between 15-18 minutes into the match, the timer will tick down at 5 units per second. There is not much left of the match. It is now a contest between you and the likely 1-2 remaining players over who a) has the most money saved up, and b) can exploit timer pauses more.

Keep using the roulette. This will possibly be difficult to get used to, but you wil have to hold Y, press B to jump occasionally, and keep mashing X, all at the same time. You may want to switch the way you hold the Joy-Con or controller to better allow you to reach the X button. At this point, there is too little time to strategize; you will end up getting POW Blocks in empty screens and Stars right before the course ends - this is unfortunately part of the experience. Every kind of roll is useful now:

-Rolls that give you power-ups either pause the timer as Mario changes forms, or add 15 units if he already has that or a more powerful form.
-Star rolls allow you to run through the course and get timer units simply by touching enemies. It is now too late to try jumping on them or using Koopa shells; the Star is the only way the timer can be kept up at least for a few more seconds.
-POW Block rolls give you a lot of timer units at a time. Of course, the chances of one activating at the perfect time are slim, but it's better than nothing.

Every time you come across a pipe, take it. This will pause the timer and give you an advantage over the remaining opponents. If you come across 2-1, 5-2 or 6-2, take the Coin Heaven vines in those courses as those pause the timer for even longer. If all else fails, just run into an enemy as Super Mario or Fire Mario to pause the timer, then make sure you get a roulette result before the invincibility wears off. 

I must warn you that the game may be unfair at this point. If you have not KO'd any opponents all game and your remaining opponent has 6 KO's, giving that player a 400 coin advantage over you, you will lose as the other player will simply outspend you. Since KO's are mostly luck-based, such is the nature of the game; however, I managed to get only 1st and 2nd place finished with this strategy, meaning that even if your opponent has an advantage that cannot be overcome, it will likely only be one opponent, still giving you a high placement.

Course-by-Course Guide

In this part, I will go through each course, show the location of all power-ups and other points of interest, and provide tips relating to how best to handle these courses.

1-1

This is the power-up everyone knows about. It is practical to grab it in all phases, however, you will encounter scenarios where you start 1-1 as Fire Mario and have a maxed-out timer; then, it is better to run past it.

Going down the last pipe before the first pit brings you to this bonus room:

It contains 19 coins. I would recommend not visiting this bonus room unless you are in the Endgame phase, as you are missing upwards of 35 coins you would have been able to get on the surface instead. For the Endgame, this room is perfect as most of the coins can be collected while moving as quickly as possible, potentially buying one more roulette roll.

On the surface to the right of the pipe that leads to the bonus room is the game's first hidden 1-Up Mushroom, which gains you 20 coins in this game. It is above the fifth tile from the edge of the pit, or above the left side of the hill in the background. There is no reason to ever skip grabbing this one.

The second power-up in the course. Again, very easy to grab, but best ignored if the timer is close to maxed out due to some enemies being able to drop onto it from the higher brick row.

On the other side of the second pit is this Multi-Coin Block. The best strategy is to approach it with Fire Mario and keep mashing Y while jumping to ward off approaching Goombas with fireballs. This may be better skipped in the Red Timer phase.

To the right of the Multi-Coin Block is a hidden Star. This should be grabbed at all times unless you have set up a chain reaction with one of the Koopa Troopas and want to see it through all the way to the staircase, which could gain up to 100 timer units if there are many queued enemies. 

The last power-up of the course is in this high block to the right of the Star. This is best skipped unless you really need it since you will be losing time from the Star (unless you have set up the Star to bounce along the ground as you grab it, which takes practice) or losing sight of the Koopa shell if that was your tactic.

1-2

The first power-up is in the first Question Block. Always grab it, but watch out for the Goombas. In the Opening phase, you have enough time to let them pass out beneath the blocks before engaging with them.

This block between the columns is a Multi-Coin Block. Do not engage with it if you are Small or Super Mario and a Koopa Troopa has spawned underneath it! You will have a high chance of getting hurt by the bouncing shell.  Even as Fire Mario, be very careful to defeat the Koopa Troopa with fireballs before jumping in.

This Star requires breaking two blocks underneath it and is not available to Small Mario. Due to the time it takes to get it, it may not be a good idea to get it in the Red Timer phase if you are Fire Mario and not too many enemies are coming up, as you will be going down to the bonus room shortly anyway and can just use fireballs on the enemies.

If you are Super Mario, you can get this Fire Flower, again requiring blocks to be destroyed. It requires a tricky jump to collect, and if you do not feel confident in your ability to do this jump on your first try, skip it in the Red Timer phase.

To the right of it is a Multi-Coin Block. Due to it being far off the ground, it will give fewer coins than most other Multi-Coin Block and may not even be worth it in the Fast Music phase if your timer is low, much less the Red Timer phase.

Getting on top of this floating brick formation as Super Mario allows you to get the 1-Up Mushroom. Make sure to either break the block to the right of it first, or be very confident that you can break it as the 1-Up Mushroom emerges but before it starts moving. If you hit it too late, the 1-Up Mushroom will be turned around by the hit and lost forever.

Entering the first of the three pipes gets you to this bonus room:

This is one of those bonus rooms you should take during all phases. The only difference is that every phase except Endgame should take the time to activate this Multi-Coin Block:

...while during Endgame, this is simply too frivolous to be spending your time on.

There is one thing to note about this Multi-Coin Block specifically. It appears that the physics of the original game were changed slightly in regards to horizontal pipes. In the original game, you had to actively press Right next to a pipe to enter it. In Super Mario Bros. 35, Mario must simply have rightwards momentum and he will enter the pipe automatically. This means that it is extremely easy to not stop in time and accidentally exit the bonus room without getting to use the Multi-Coin Block. My advice is: in early phases, approach the block slowly and stand under its left side. In later phases, jump shortly before Mario touches the wall with the pipe. This has a chance to stop all his momentum, but on some occasions, it will not and he will still enter the pipe.

Right before the final set of moving platforms, another power-up is on the right edge of these blocks. This is often guarded by enemies in awkward formations and is better skipped unless you really need it.

Riding the moving platforms to the top of the screen and running over the bricks at the top leads you to the Warp Zone. Now is the time to explain how Warp Zones work in this game: the regular exit on the left, the one you abandon to get to the Warp Zone, advances the playlist by 1 as any other exit. The rightmost pipe advances it by 2, the middle by 3, and the leftmost pipe by 4. This means that if you see, from left to right, the numbers 1-1, 1-3, 1-4 over the pipes, and you enter the 1-4 one, after clearing that course you will go to 1-3, and then to 1-1. Thus, in addition to skipping at least one course, this gives you a preview of the courses ahead and the ability to choose where to go. 

Obviously, this is extremely useful when trying to unlock a late-game course, but even when playing to win, you can use this knowledge in unexpected ways. If you are in the Endgame phase, and you see 1-3, 2-2, 1-1, your best bet is to go into the 1-1 pipe and then stall as much as possible (exploiting getting hit to stop the timer) to avoid going to 2-2, since you really don't want to be in 2-2 during the game's last moments. 

1-3

All -3 courses in the game except for 8-3 contain no Multi-Coin blocks, no bonus rooms, and only one power-up each. In conjunction with the large amount of pits, these are some of the most undesirable courses and should be finished as quickly as possible while still taking time to line up all jumps to not fall into pits. If you feel very confident, you can collect coins like the ones on the high platform here; but most of the time, this is not worthwhile.

Note that if you run at the highest speed, all platforms will be in perfect positions to jump on; you only need to wait for them if you have not been running all the time.

1-4

The -4 courses, or castles, are also scant on power-ups, but provide the opportunity to send Bowser to your opponents, who can single-handedly land you a KO. The first castle has a power-up above the first Fire Bar, and nothing else that is helpful.

However, it is unique in that it has harmful Hidden Blocks. They contain a single coin each and are located in the big empty-seeming basin area right before Bowser. During regular Super Mario Bros. gameplay, these are odd but not likely to cost you a life, but in Super Mario Bros. 35, the basin will likely be filled with enemies, and trying to jump while bumping into one of these could make Mario land in front of an enemy rather than on it, losing the game. Be mindful of these blocks and if the area is overflowing with enemies, it may even be worth it to roll the roulette during the first two phases.

2-1

In general, -1 courses are best to choose from Warp Zones even if you are not familiar with them as each of them offers, in addition to many secrets, power-ups in easily distinguished Question Blocks, like this one at the beginning of this course. If you take nothing else away from this guide, at least memorize this Helpfulness Chart for choosing courses from Warp Zones:

1-2 > 4-2 > any course ending in -1 > any course ending in -2 that is not 2-2 or 7-2 > any course ending in -3 > any course ending in -4 > 2-2 > 7-2

In the first walled-off area with the Koopa Troopas, a hidden block acts like a stepping stone to another hidden block next to the brick formation containing a 1-Up. If you are Fire Mario, the best thing to do is to stomp a Koopa Troopa, use the shell to take out the other enemies in the area, and destroy the shell with a fireball. If you are not Fire Mario, try to avoid jumping on any Koopa Troopas as you may not be able to deal with the shell bouncing.

The lower left Question Block in this formation contains a power-up. In early phases, it may be helpful to hit each of these for coins; in later ones, still hit one or two of the lower ones as you run past.

Directly to the right of that formation is this Star that can be reached by standing on a Brick Block. This one is tricky; in the Opening phase, definitely grab it simply because you can, but starting with even the Fast Music phase, you are better served ignoring it as you will be aiming to enter Coin Heaven in the next screen anyway, which would cancel the Star. Of course, if you see many enemies being queued up on the indicator on the bottom of the screen, taking it may still help.

The middle block in the formation above the seven Question Blocks contains the game's first vine to Coin Heaven. There is literally no phase in which skipping this Coin Heaven is advisable; in early phases you can take your time to grab all coins while later phases get a long timer pause out of it. (There is one Coin Heaven in the game that is so risky to enter that skipping it may actually be a good idea, but more on that in the 3-1 section.)

Coin Heaven is a long bonus area with a platform that will start moving to the right when Mario touches it. The goal is to stay on the platform and jump to grab the coins; in the Coin Heavens with a blue sky background, the platform is low enough to jump back on if you fall off, while in the ones with a black background, once you fall off, it is no longer profitable to get back on. During the Endgame phase, all you can really do here is just jump on the platfrom from a full run, take one jump to collect a few coins, then run straight through and fall off the edge. Coin Heaven is also beneficial in that it sends all enemy copies sent to you into the void, completely preventing them from reaching you as long as you are inside.

Should you somehow miss taking the vine to Coin Heaven, the first pipe immediately after it is also helpful. It takes you to the same bonus room as seen in 1-1 with the 19 floating coins. It also expels you very close to the entrance so you miss nothing else in the course by taking it; a very good backup strategy if the screen going to Coin Heaven has too many dangers to deal with.

The leftmost block in the formation above the three pipes contains a power-up. This may be tricky to get in later phases; definitely not worth it in the Endgame phase, especially as it is easy to jump into a Piranha Plant on your way to grab the power-up.

Past the three pipes are two pits, and to the right of those is this formation. The lone Brick Block here is a Multi-Coin Block. Make sure to clear the area of Koopa Paratroopas before attempting to hit it; also keep in mind that the next wall is close enough to the edge of the screen that all shells will continue bouncing back indefinitely and you may need to keep jumping over them. Definitely best approached as Fire Mario.

This Brick Block contains a power-up. If you are Small Mario, just stand under it to let the Super Mushroom fall onto you, but if you are Fire Mario, it may be difficult to get up to grab it. In the Endgame phase, this is only advisable if you are both Small Mario and line the two necessary jumps up immediately from a running start; otherwise, skip it.

The end of the course contains the game's first trampoline. Trampolines in this game have notoriously difficult timing and have cost many players many lives; luckily, none of them are actually required to use. It may seem like there is no way to get up onto the Hard Blocks without it, but there is a hidden block on the left above the Brick Blocks that allows you to skip using it. The same goes for even the trampolines in 6-3. Please note that Super Mario Bros. 35 added new physics that allows enemies to use the trampoline. If you see an enemy fall onto it from above, watch out.

2-2

2-2 and 7-2 are this game's only underwater courses, and they share the exact same layout except 7-2 has additional enemies. To summarize, these courses are there to punish players. There is very little of value in 2-2; no power-ups, no bonus areas, and the coins that are scattered around are very often not worth getting since Super Mario Bros. has a mechanic that is not present in any other Mario platformer: invisible currents above underwater pits. 

What this means is that Mario will fall extremely quickly when above a pit, and require mashing B (A in the original game) to not fall in. Especially the area shown in the screenshot is very tempting with its 6 coins, but is not recommended to enter unless 1. you are in the Opening phase, 2. you feel very confident about underwater controls, and 3. you are at least Super Mario. Even trying to skip this area is not as easy as it looks; standing on the top boundaries actually produces a current that sucks Mario into the middle, which can surprise those players unprepared for it. 

The best strategy for encountering 2-2 and 7-2 is to just try to get through as quickly as possible. Bloopers cannot touch Mario when he is on the ground, which was useful in the original game but is much less so in Super Mario Bros. 35, where enemy copies will spawn on the seafloor. If you are Fire Mario, stay near the top of the screen and mash Y to take out incoming Bloopers; as Super Mario, simply swim as fast as possible while ignoring distractions. Use a roulette in any phase if stuck here as Small Mario and many enemies are coming up. 

2-3

Like most other -3 courses, this again has only one power-up, placed in a visible Question Block. This course features jumping Cheep Cheeps, which, in addition to providing a constact threat of being hit, have the ability to mess up your jumps by getting under Mario's feet mid-jump, causing him to bounce off and change his trajectory. 

In early phases, if you see a Koopa Troopa having spawned near the beginning of the course, line up the shell and follow it until the end of the first bridge. Do not bother doing that for any other segments of the course. In the Red Timer phase, it may actually be a good idea to wait until you roll a Star before attempting the final portion as that completely eliminates any concerns about Cheep Cheeps messing up jumps.

2-4

The 2-4 castle is one of the tamest castle courses. The power-up is kept in a Question Block above an inactive Fire Bar, making it easy to obtain. After that comes a fork in the road; take the lower path as that has fewer Fire Bars, but you may be forced to take the upper one if the lower one is overloaded with enemy copies. Near the end is a segment with two small jumps over lava - remember "hits before pits" as Bowser's flames appear from the right of the screen just as you take the second jump. It is better to jump right into the flame than to instinctively push Left and land in the lava instead.

3-1

3-1 is a course that experts can get a lot of value out of, but is dangerous to novices. The third block from the beginning contains a power-up. You may want to wait on top of one of the other blocks for the Koopa Paratroopas to pass, as that is safer than trying to stomp them or walking under them.

The second pipe in the course leads to a bonus room. Note that this is a bonus room that heavily favors Mario forms that are not small. As Small Mario, you may only get 4 coins from it, so it is better skipped.

In earlier phases of the game, you may take the time to break the two blocks on the bottom left to get into the structure and collect all coins. In later phases, it is better to just jump along the bottom and get 6 of the coins by breaking the blocks they are on.

There is also this power-up that you will encounter automatically by jumping if you get inside the brick structure.

Over the fourth tile from the right end of the bridge - which is curiously the only instance of water in a non-water area in the entire game (however, don't fall in, as it acts like a regular pit instead) - is a 1-Up Mushroom. This is worth getting on all phases, even during the Endgame.

Just a few tiles to the right, the leftmost of these three Brick Blocks contains a Star. This is easy to get as Super or Fire Mario; Small Mario must make a much riskier jump, so pay attention to not fall into the way of the approaching enemies below. This Star is always a good idea to get, as it will allow you to not worry about the Hammer Bros. ahead.

Guarded by the game's first two Hammer Bros. is this power-up. Hammer Bros. in Super Mario Bros. 35 are much more insidious than in the original game. If you pass them without defeating them, they will actually turn around and pursue you. This is similar behavior to the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2, known internationally as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, but even more aggressive. You may encounter players who choose 3-1 or other Hammer Bros. courses just to introduce Hammer Bros. into the pool of enemies. Unfortunately, "be Fire Mario" and "have a Star" are the only completely safe ways of dealing with them. If you can jump far over them and are sure you can outrun their pursuit, try that instead; and of course, prioritize passing underneath them where possible. There is a small area immediately to the left and right of a Hammer Bro. where his hammers will not hit you - but he can still hit you with his body, so you are still not completely safe.

To the right of the trampoline is the entrance to this course's Coin Heaven. To reach it, you may bounce off the trampoline at running speed without pressing the jump button.

This is the second type of Coin Heaven. This has more coins than the 2-1 versions, but they are harder to obtain, especially as Small Mario. There are also Cloud Blocks as obstacles - unlike Cloud Blocks encountered in other Mario games and the Super Mario Maker series, these are actually solid, so you must jump over them. The final segment requires you to make use of Mario's ability to run over single-tile-wide gaps. 

In this formation, the bottom right Question Block has a power-up.

Finally, to the right of the power-up, the second Brick Block from the left in this row is a Multi-Coin Block. This may not be worth stopping for if there is a Hammer Bro waiting on the Hard Block formation to the right (often, a copy Hammer Bro spawns exactly there from players playing the same course at the same time you are). Otherwise, wait until the area is clear from Koopa Paratroopas before engaging with this block first.

3-2

3-2 is the Koopa shell line-up course. It consists of long, flat areas that are perfect for shooting shells across and watching the timer rise drastically. This course is the one you want to be in during the Endgame phase as it is the only place where the timer additions can (barely) outweigh the ticking. In fact, if you are in Endgame and see courses 3-2, 2-2, and 1-1 coming up in that order in a Warp Zone, it is best to take 3-2 even at risk of then ending up in 2-2 purely due to how much time you can gain here.

The first power-up is above the first Hard Block column in the course.

Right afterwards, a double treat of a Star above a Multi-Coin Block. Needless to say, do not get the Star if you plan to then use the Multi-Coin Block. In fact, this is one of the few places it may not be a good idea to get the Star at all since you will no longer be able to line up Koopa Troopa shells; but in the Red Timer and Endgame phases, you may choose the safety of the Star over the timer additions depending on the situation.

To get to the Multi-Coin Block, you must get rid of the Koopa Troopa first, so trying to get it as anything other than Fire Mario is not recommended unless you are fine with taking a hit.

3-3

Just like the other -3 courses before it, 3-3 has one conspicuous power-up. Strangely, it is less dangerous than 1-3 due to having fewer pits. Be mindful of the Scale Platforms that raise the part you are not standing on while you are standing on the other part - if you stand on them too long, you may get the other part up so high it will be impossible to jump on, or even worse - standing for even longer will cause both ends to fall off. Once you are on a Scale Platform, it is best to keep jumping to closely control how far the raising goes.

3-4

The 3-4 castle is more dangerous than the previous ones and the first one you encounter where all Fire Bars are active. The power-up is in the middle Question Block after the first segment with the Lava Bubbles. The segment after it, with the twin Fire Bars on the top and bottom, is almost guaranteed to make you take a hit due to often being overloaded with enemies, so definitely grab this power-up and then speed through using damage invincibility frames.

4-1

4-1 is one of the two courses that focus on Lakitu. While in Super Mario Bros., Lakitu always appears alone, there is no such limit in Super Mario Bros. 35. If you have Attackers targeted and send a Lakitu over to multiple players (the best way to defeat them is the POW Block roulette roll), you may start a chain reaction of Lakitus being multiplied and sent over to other players until the end of the match, creating a Lakitu pandemonium. Unlike other enemies that can be jumped over, Lakitus will always follow the player. The only way to unload a Lakitu without it being sent to another player is to take an entrance to a bonus room, meaning they could be ping-ponged around indefinitely. If you see a Lakitu, being Small Mario is inviting death due to their unpredictable nature, so roll the roulette until you are no longer in immediate danger.

The first power-up in the course is right after the first pipe.

Above the third Question Block in this formation, a 1-Up Mushroom can be found. It is best to anticipate this and line up your jumps to spend as little time as possible on a platform above the ground, as the Spinies are harder to dodge the higher up Mario is.

After this, two pipes can be found. The second pipe leads to a bonus room. Unlike the previous bonus room design, which was advantageous for Super and Fire Mario, this one favors Small Mario:

It is possible, though difficult, to run and duck to get under the blocks as Super and Fire Mario, as well. Depending on the phase of the match, you may not have the time to attempt this, however.

This power-up is only available for Small Mario. In the original game, it was reasonably possible to slide, duck and jump and get underneath the block without being Small Mario, but due to the change to the exit pipe mechanics I mentioned before, if you attempt this, Mario will simply take the pipe. I was able to do this once out of many attempts, so unless you are an expert at these types of jumps, you will likely only waste time setting up failed attempts.

If you take the bonus room, you will skip past this structure with the power-up, so if you are Super Mario specifically (as Fire Mario does not need this), you may want to not go inside the pipe. Make sure to not take a hit before spawning the power-up; if you take one afterwards and you are Small Mario, the Fire Flower will still turn you into Fire Mario (unlike in the original) and you can use invincibility frames to escape.

The block before the flagpole is a Multi-Coin Block. In the original game, this is a safe place since Lakitu leaves when Mario touches the staircase. In Super Mario Bros. 35, not only do Lakitu copies not leave, the area is likely to be filled with other enemy copies as well, so make sure to clear them all out before engaging with this block, and do not bother if there are Lakitus still active.

4-2

4-2 is the game's only other course besides 1-2 that contains a Warp Zone - two of them, in fact. The major Warp Zone is even more powerful than the 1-2 one; instead of bringing you to courses up to four places further in the playlist, this one gets you up to five places further. Although, it is much harder to access than the 1-2 one to the point where trying to do it during Endgame may lead to a loss since it is possible to mess up and make it impossible to access, losing a lot of time.

The first power-up is in this hollow space. As Small Mario, you can get in from the left. As Super or Fire Mario, drop in from above. Make sure to watch out for incoming enemies that will drop through the hole. 

This may be the game's most obscure Multi-Coin Block. It is five tiles from the right edge of this structure, two Brick Blocks deep, so Small Mario cannot access it. 

After this, there is another power-up in the middle of the last Question Block group. Make sure to not bump Mario's head into one of the moving platforms when jumping off.

This is the entrance to the first Warp Zone. If you are Super or Fire Mario, you need to be very careful to only hit the depicted hidden blocks, because otherwise...

...if you hit the one directly below the vine block, you cannot access the Warp Zone any longer. In general, it takes quite a bit of time to line up Mario properly to activate the Warp Zone; despite how useful it is, you may want to skip it in the Endgame phase since every second counts.

The Warp Zone contains mushroom platforms with coins on them and ends in three pipes. The one on the left skips five places ahead in the playlist, the one in the middle four places, and the one on the right three places. If you are trying to unlock courses, this is very useful - but unfortunately, you cannot both select a course to unlock and 4-2 to help you out simultaneously, so you must hope someone else selected 4-2 instead.

Skipping the Warp Zone gets you to this pipe with blocks on either side. The left side has a Multi-Coin Block. If you are Fire Mario, clear out the enemies underneath it first. As anything less than Fire Mario, it may not be worth it.

On the other side is the game's first Buzzy Beetle. Now, even Fire Mario will not help you. To get the Star, you must carefully avoid stepping on the Buzzy Beetle instead, or bounce off of it and carefully land somewhere else (although the tight space gives you very few options).

Across more moving platforms is the third power-up in the middle row. Make sure to stand below the missing block in that row and jump up in time to grab it if it is a Super Mushroom. Unlike in later Mario platforms, power-ups do not interact with moving platforms, so do not count on those catching the Super Mushroom; it will fall right through.

If you ride the moving platforms to the top of the screen and jump across the ceilings, you will come across this minor Warp Zone on the right edge of the course. This will give you no options, merely giving you the course two places further in the playlist, which while better than a regular exit, is not nearly as useful as the Warp Zones that give you a choice.

If you skip going up to the ceiling, the first block in this long row has the course's fourth power-up - making 4-2 the course with the most power-ups in the game. If you chase after it, be very careful of the low ceiling being able to bounce you into oncoming enemy copies.

4-3

4-3 is the only Mushroom Platform course in the game. Years later, this course would single-handedly build the basis for the sky world aesthetic in the entire New Super Mario Bros. series. Note that again, unlike Mushroom Platforms in later games, these are solid (the tops, that is. The stems are not solid). Do not be misled into bumping Mario's head on them as you imagine them working like they do in the Super Mario Maker series. 

The course's one power-up is in this high Question Block that may be too far out of the way to get in later phases.

4-4

4-4 is the first of the game's two maze castles. The way maze castles work is that each contains two segments where Mario must pass a certain point in the screen while at a certain elevation. If you take a path with the wrong elevation, the segment will loop until you find the right solution. Choosing one of these courses could make those opponents who are encountering these for the first time lose because this mechanic is not explained or telegraphed; it relies on experimentation (for which this game leaves no time) to figure out. There are no power-ups here.

The first segment must be cleared by getting Mario on top of this platform. 

The second segment is cleared by getting into the bottom passage here. Note that the one-tile-wide opening on the left is the only way to do so; if it has scrolled off-screen, you are out of luck and need to attempt the segment again.

5-1

5-1 is like 3-1 in that a lot of the course invites lining up Koopa Troopa shells; however, it is also much more dangerous due to the presence of Bullet Bills.

The first half of the course has nothing useful; then, on top of this angular structure, the middle block contains a Star.

Further on, past the game's first Bullet Bill Blaster, is this incomplete structure resembling the one before. Jumping in the empty spot reveals a 1-Up Mushroom. Be mindful of it falling into the pit; also, the moment you get far enough to jump for it, the Bullet Bill Blaster to the right of this screen will shoot, so watch out for that as well.

This pipe that can be reached by taking a running jump from that structure leads to the game's last new underground bonus room (the ones after this are all repeats of previous ones).

This is the "time-wasting" bonus room. Getting those ten coins is only worth it in the first two phases; however, the block on the very right is also a Multi-Coin Block:

This one may be worth giving a jump or two during the Red Timer phase, as well. If you are Super Mario or Fire Mario, jumping against the upper coins while running can get you one or two extra coins.

5-2

5-2 is a course that has many coins, but is quite dangerous. It combines Bullet Bill Blasters, Hammer Bros. and Buzzy Beetles. 

The first power-up is on the right edge of the top row of these Brick Blocks near the beginning. This is close to the Hammer Bro. on the stairs to the right, so make sure to watch out for his hammers if you chase after a Super Mushroom.

Right after the stairs with the Hammer Bro is this pipe. If you are in your last seconds in the Endgame, take this pipe as any timer pause is worth it. Otherwise, do not, since...

...it leads to one of the game's two underwater bonus rooms. I really, truly recommend you to never visit this bonus room. Not only does the exit from it make you skip the Coin Heaven of this course, but the 17 coins you can get here are not worth being exposed to Bloopers and Cheep Cheeps. In addition, there are downwards-moving platforms here that mean certain death if you get stuck underneath one. Every underground bonus room and Coin Heaven provide a safe place to get coins and power-ups - but the underwater bonus rooms are just as dangerous, if not more so, than regular courses.

If you do not enter the underwater bonus room, you get the chance to try to enter Coin Heaven instead, the vine for which is in the leftmost block of this row. This Coin Heaven is relatively easy to enter, much more so than the one in 3-1, so there is no reason to skip it. 

The Coin Heaven room is a repeat of the one from 2-1.

Later on in the course, two Hammer Bros. will be guarding two long rows of Brick Blocks. On the edge of the upper one is a Star. If you are Super Mario, you may run through the Hammer Bros. and use invincibility frames to get the Star, turning around and defeating them afterwards. The Star is also helpful as Small Mario, to clear the next area...

...since it has there two blocks that only Small Mario can easily activate. Of course, you can try to slide in as Super or Fire Mario, as well, but the time wasted this way may not be worth it. The left block is a Multi-Coin Block. Make sure not to mash B too fast or Mario will not get a coin for each jump. It's better to find a rhythm that works than mash B and have Mario only get a coin for every other jump.

The one on the right contains a power-up.

Finally, another power-up is in this Brick Block before the pipe surrounded by pits. This one should be picked up in all phases.

5-3

Super Mario Bros. has five courses that are repeats of previous ones, with minor adjustments. 5-3 is the first one of them, being a repeat of 1-3. What this means is that the layout of 5-3 (including the position of the power-up) is identical, but two changes are present. First, Bullet Bills randomly appear from the right edge of the screen. Since these are unpredictable, my only advice is to remember "hits before pits" and not be intimidated to jump into a pit by a Bullet Bill appearing in front of you. Second, all moving platforms are reduced by a width of two tiles. This merely means you need to spend more time lining up your jumps, but if you approach them with the same speed as in 1-3, they will be in the same positions, so you can use your muscle memory from 1-3.

5-4

5-4 is the second repeat course, this time of 2-4. In contrast to 2-4, all the Fire Bars are active, meaning that a) the power-up is now much harder to obtain, b) the upper path in the fork in the road is now safer. There are also extra Lava Bubbles in the pits before Bowser, as well as one rising up through the bridge right next to Bowser (which can catch many players off-guard who expect Lava Bubbles to only be above pits). 

6-1

6-1 is the other course that is focused on Lakitu. However, this one contains more rows of blocks that can be used for cover and is thus somewhat less dangerous, plus, the frequent staircases give you a chance to take out Lakitu by jumping. The first power-up is on top of this stair-like structure at the start.

Directly to the right of it is a Multi-Coin Block on the right edge of this row. If you are Fire Mario, you can use it and ward off incoming Spinies by mashing Y while jumping. As Super or Small Mario, it is better to skip this one.

Below the overhang over another staircase is this course's hidden 1-Up Mushroom. This one can be collected in every phase due to not needing any precision - simply pivot to the left after the staircase, jump, then jump again while holding Right - although it may be too risky to try as Small Mario due to a chance of being trapped by falling Spinies.

This two-Question Block formation has a power-up on the left. Whatever you do, do not attempt to jump back up through the gap on the left - take the time to approach it from the right instead.

Finally, in these tightly-spaced block rows, the right one in the middle row is a Multi-Coin Block. Although it appears to be made for Small Mario, this is actually better attempted as Super or Fire Mario instead, as it is relatively easy to duck and slide underneath it. As Small Mario, you are leaving yourself open to a Spiny landing next to you and having no option to dodge it.

6-2

6-2 is another unique level, containing many pipes. This was likely the inspiration for World 7, Pipe Land, in Super Mario Bros. 3. Due to having this many pipes, it has the largest amount of bonus rooms in a course, being 4. Of these, you can take 3 without any problems on any playthrough of the course, including the Endgame phase.

Keep in mind that not all pipes will have Piranha Plants in them, but trying to remember which ones do and which ones do not is not worth it unless you are a very high-level player. It is best to treat them all as having Piranha Plants inside.

The first bonus room is in the very first pipe you come across. This is a repeat of the bonus room from 5-1, so just run through it if you are in one of the later phases.

Slightly to the right of that pipe is a Multi-Coin Block above a hidden block. It is actually possible to get this Multi-Coin Block and then go back into the pipe, but requires very careful movement that you will likely not have the time to do considering 6-2 is unlikely to come up while you are still in the first two phases.

Slightly later, there is this two-block formation. The right one contains a power-up. 

Please avoid taking this pipe unless absolutely necessary, as it again leads to...

...the underwater bonus room. This one has slightly smaller moving platforms as the first one but is otherwise identical. Even if you believe you can get all the coins without falling victim to the enemies and platforms, remember that you will be skipping the entrance to this course's Coin Heaven (just like with the first underwater bonus room).

In this formation shortly after the last pipe, the rightmost block leads to Coin Heaven. There is also an extra hidden block to step on to reach the vine. While this requires a few seconds to hit the vine block, drop down, hit the hidden block, jump on the hidden block, and jump onto the vine, the surroundings are safe so this should be attempted in all phases.

This is the last Coin Heaven in the game, and a repeat of the more difficult Coin Heaven in 3-1.

The last bonus room is accessed with this pipe between the two small stair-like formations. This is a repeat of the bonus room from 4-1 that is optimized for Small Mario. Again, this is always worth taking even if you are not Small Mario since you will be getting some coins anyway, as well as pausing the timer.

6-3

6-3 is a course with two trampolines that appear at first to be necessary to progress. However, that is not the case: both trampolines can be skipped by landing on the tile to the right of them and then using regular jumps to get to the next available platforms. While this does take more time, it is also safer than messing up a trampoline jump and landing in a pit. Remember: the game cannot force you to take trampolines; all trampolines are skippable.

The customary single power-up is in this precariously placed Question Block that you should only attempt to get if you feel confident in your abilities, but skip otherwise. If it is a Super Mushroom, it will fall right through the moving platforms, so do not jump after it.

6-4

6-4 is the third repeat course, this time of 1-4. The only differences outside of the Bowser screen are the Fire Bars all being active and the addition of Lava Bubbles to the two pits surrounding the power-up block. Since the Fire Bar under the power-up was active in 1-4, as well, you can rely on your muscle memory to get this one.  

The Bowser screen has another additional Lava Bubble as in 5-4, but also something much more menacing: Bowser has been replaced with Hammer Bowser. Hammer Bowser throws Hammer Bro hammers at a frightening rate and is next to impossible to pass without either a Fire Flower to take him out from a distance, a Super Mushroom to use invincibility frames, or a Star or POW Block. If you are Small Mario, use the roulette, as the chances of you dying if you don't are extremely high.

7-1

7-1 is the Bullet Bill course. Bullet Bills are everywhere, so be ready to duck as quickly as possible if you are Super or Fire Mario. 

The first power-up is on the left side of this formation at the start of the course. If it is a Super Mushroom, hold Down before collecting it so you do not collide with a Bullet Bill. If it is a Fire Flower, jumping up there is so tricky it is a good idea to skip it.

On the right of this floating Bullet Bill Blaster is a Multi-Coin Block. It is a bad idea to try engaging with it, as you will be interrupted by Bullet Bills every few jumps. Even if you perfectly dodge them, you will get fewer coins out of it than other Multi-Coin Blocks.

A hidden block above the pipe after the Hammer Bros. contains a 1-Up Mushroom. Enter the pipe immediately afterwards...

...for a repeat of the 1-1 bonus room with the free 19 coins. This bonus room presents only advantages and should be taken during all phases.

At the end of the course is yet another trampoline meant to trick you into using it when you can also simply use the blocks instead. 

7-2

7-2 is the penultimate repeat course, being a repeat of 2-2. I believe I have said enough about 2-2 to convey why 7-2 should also be approached with the goal of getting it over with as quickly as possible. The only difference between 2-2 and 7-2 is that 7-2 has more enemies. 

7-3

The final repeat course, 7-3 is a repeat of 2-3. Here, the addition is slightly more creative: instead of adding even more flying Cheep Cheeps, various types of Koopa Troopas and Koopa Paratroopas are added. In a display of irony, while this results in a different experience in the original game, in Super Mario Bros. 35 they are indistinguishable since both 2-3 and 7-3 will be filled with enemy copies anyway, resulting in the extra enemies being completely lost in the mix.

7-4

7-4 is the second maze castle. Here, it is not enough to pick a correct path once per segment, but multiple times. As 4-4, there are no power-ups here.

Try to memorize the paths by remembering that you should climb one tier at each fork. First, take the lowest path...

...then, the middle path...

...and finally, the upper path.

In the second segment, you must start by jumping on the platform above the Fire Bar. From here, however, it's the same pattern.

First, drop down to the lowest level...

...then pass the second set of rows on the middle level...

...and the last set of rows on the upper level.

In this castle, Bowser also throws hammers, so take the time to roll a roulette after getting out of the maze section.

8-1

8-1 is the longest course in the game. Try to set up Koopa Troopa and Buzzy Beetle shell combos whenever you can to keep up the timer. The course was designed to categorically have no shortcuts - even the bonus room takes you back less that one screen to the right of the entrance, resulting in a greater distance traveled (though still worth it in the Endgame phase due to the timer stops).

Quite a way into the course, there is a Buzzy Beetle between two pipes. Two tiles from the right edge is a 1-Up Mushroom. Be very careful to not step on the Buzzy Beetle, or step on it and then jump away, before attempting to collect it.

Three pipes to the right of the Buzzy Beetle is the entrance to the bonus room, which is a repeat of the 1-2 bonus room with the Multi-Coin Block. If you somehow manage to get to 8-1 while in the first two phases, take it. Otherwise, hit it once before exiting the room.

In this enclosed area with a Koopa Paratroopa, a hidden block enables access to a Multi-Coin Block. Getting this is a bad idea in general unless your timer is somehow still not red while arriving in 8-1.

The third block of the row after the last one contains a Star. This, on the other hand, is something you should get in all phases as it allows you to run almost all the way to the end of the course without worrying about the enemies.

8-2

Previous courses have been hard, but it is in 8-2 that Super Mario Bros. starts getting relentless. The first segment contains Lakitu, although he disappears soon after (note however that copy Lakitus do not disappear and need to be defeated one way or another). There is a long segment where a trampoline must be used to hit a block, which releases a 1-Up Mushroom, and then the mushroom must be followed for three screens to the right before it can be collected. If you manage to hit a brick in front of it by bouncing off the Koopa Paratroopas, you can collect it earlier. 

As it is most likely that you will be in the Red Timer phase in 8-2, having to pay attention to anything but Mario's survival could be fatal, and having to contend with a trampoline is a disadvantage as well. Unless you feel very adventurous, it is best to not bother with this one.

After this segment comes a field of Bullet Bill Blasters. The first two-block formation there contains a power-up on the right. Again, if it is a Super Mushroom, be mindful of Mario's increased size and duck so the Bullet Bill Blaster does not hit you immediately after collecting it.

Another one of these extremely risky Multi-Coin Blocks is found near the end of the Bullet Bill Blaster section. This one has two Blasters aimed at Mario, plus two Buzzy Beetles. Unless you have a Star from the roulette while doing it, engaging with this block is an extremely bad idea.

The Jump

8-2 contains the hardest jump in the game. If 8-2 is in the queue, it is a near guarantee that some players will lose to this exact jump. I have provided two animated GIFs showing how to approach clearing this jump:

The first option is to slowly inch to the back of the first ground tile, then hold Y and Right, and finally press B when Mario is past the middle of the second ground tile.

However, you can also start from the pipe. The position must be precise; Mario must stand between the middle and the left side of the pipe before pressing Y and Right. If Mario stands on the right side of the pipe, he will run off into a gap. Same will happen if he stands too far to the left! One thing you should definitely not attempt is to not stop at all before getting to the pit and relying on your momentum to carry you. Even in the Endgame phase, take one second to align Mario in one of these two ways to not fall.

On the other side of the gap, there is a pipe that will take you to a repeat of the 5-1 bonus room with the Multi-Coin Block. This will be mostly useless at this point in the game outside of briefly pausing the timer.

8-3

8-3 is a course with a unique "outside castle" aesthetic and the highest number of Hammer Bros. in any course. By this point, giving actual strategies is impractical since you should be using the roulette constantly anyway, so do not worry about the Hammer Bros. as long as you have enough money to power yourself up after speeding through them.

Still, if you are Fire Mario and manage to take them out from afar, you may want to collect these power-ups to get an extra 15 timer units. The first one is two blocks from the right on the top row in the first Hammer Bros. area.

The second one is mirrored from the first, in the second block from the left in the second Hammer Bros. area.

Before the end of the course, you will see a conspicuous white line near the end of the castle wall. This is a Multi-Coin Block. Since 8-3 is such a late-game course, you may never reach it in a phase early enough for this to be worthwhile.

8-4

Finally, Bowser's castle. (If you have played the original game and defeated Bowser with fireballs, you will remember that all the Bowsers in the previous castles were fake, enemies wearing Bowser costumes. This one is the real deal; however, in Super Mario Bros. 35, all Bowsers are real instead). This is a twist on the maze castle idea; it is the only course with more than 2 obligatory segments, some of which loop like maze castle segments and some of which do not. As with the other maze castles, there are no power-ups here.

In the first three rooms, the goal is to go inside the correct pipe. In the first room, the correct pipe is the one right after the lava pit with the moving platform (not the very first lava pit at the beginning of the course).

The same goes for the other two rooms. The correct pipe is always directly after the lava pit. In the second room, to access it, you must uncover a hidden block two tiles to the left of it - although in Super Mario Bros. 35, you could also just bounce off the Koopa Paratroopas instead, which would not gain enough height in the original game.

The third room contains flying Cheep Cheeps. Luckily, unlike flying Cheep Cheeps in castle levels in the Super Mario Maker games, these are not burning and can be stomped like usual. The pipe is again right after the lava pit.

The fourth room is an underwater segment with Fire Bars. Stay near the bottom of the screen if possible, and never let Mario remain small.

Finally, the fifth room is Bowser's room. After a Hammer Bro and a jump over a pit with a Lava Bubble, Bowser is in an empty room (plus any enemy copies that spawn in, of course) and throws hammers like the last two. As usual, roll the roulette and barrel through him regardless of the outcome. 

(Parts of this guide have been amended using corrections by Twitter user "MewtwoReturns". Thank you very much for your help!)

This concludes my guide. I hope that this will help at least some who read it improve their Super Mario Bros. 35 play. Please notify me of any corrections or suggestions in the comments on this article or over any of the Supper Mario Broth social media.

Thank you very much for reading.