New Super Mario Bros. Wii brings back elements of the classics, but with some twists.
The map[edit]
You begin in World 1. Blinking red spaces indicate levels you have not visited. The Princess' Castle has a special level that can be re-visited at any time to watch and unlock Hint Movies.
HUD[edit]
At the top of the screen there will be an icon for your character with a number next to it that indicates how many lives you have left.
Next to the lives are the number of Star Coins you have acquired in this level.
On the top right side you will see your score, determined by number of coins, power-ups, enemies damaged, and time spent during a level.
Next to the score is the time left for the level. If the time runs out, all players lose a life and you have to exit the level.
Moving around[edit]
Players can move around using the 
, run with 
and jump with 
. They can bounce off of each others' heads and pick each other up by holding and 
.
Stomping[edit]
Players can butt stomp by jumping, then pressing 
+. This can break through blocks underneath them, if they are heavy enough. It can also be used to kill enemies as mini-mario. If two players stomp at the same time, it will create rainbow shockwave that can kill all enemies on the screen (except for Boos).
Combat[edit]
Mario and friends can jump on most enemies to defeat them. Some enemies will cause damage to the players if jumped upon (such as Piranha Plants).
Death[edit]
If one player dies and has one or more lives left, but another is still alive, the dead player will lose a life and then re-appear on one side of the map trapped in a bubble in their small form. They can then to move the bubble towards a player. If the bubble gets shot by a player's projectile or thrown item, or touched by a player, the bubble will pop and the player trapped inside will gain normal control of their character again.
If all players die at the same time, or are in bubbles at the same time, they all lose a life and must exit the level.
Continues[edit]
If a non-Mario player loses all of their lives, and then the game returns to the map, that player will use a continue and gain five lives. Continues are cumulative and kept track of on a per-character basis.
Checkpoints[edit]
Halfway across each level there is a black flag with Bowser's sigil on it. Touching the flag will grant the player who touched it a free, instantaneous mushroom power-up. In addition, when all players die and you have to exit the level, when you enter the level again you will begin at the flag.
Held items[edit]
Players can pick up items by holding +. They can continue to hold the item indefinitely by holding . They will drop the item if damaged, and the item can be destroyed if another player stomps on it or it touches an enemy under certain conditions (e.g. if a frozen enemy is being held above a player and an enemy touches it, the ice block will break and both the frozen enemy and the enemy that touched it will die).
An item can be thrown by releasing . Thrown items often can hit multiple enemies. For example, Koopa shells and frozen blocks will slide along the ground until they hit an object. Koopa shells will ricochet back, whereas frozen blocks will shatter. Bob-ombs that are detonating can be thrown and will slide a short distance before stopping. While sliding they can damage multiple enemies.