Bingo Battle
Bingo Battle (ビンゴバトル?, lit.: "Bingo Battle") is a 2-player competitive game mode in Pikmin 3. The mode involves each player attempting to fill a bingo card before their opponent by carrying various fruits, enemies, and marbles to the Onion. Player 1 controls a cyan team of Koppaites on the left side of the screen, while player 2 controls a pink team of Hocotatians on the right side. The mode is somewhat similar to the 2-Player Battle mode in Pikmin 2.
Players can take control of Pikmin of any type (up to two types), but only within their team. The only way to distinguish which Pikmin belong to which team is with the top of their stems: their leaf, bud or flower will be cyan when they belong to player 1's team, and pink for player 2's. Players start with a certain type of Pikmin – the same for both teams, but it is possible to find more Pikmin of their team buried in the wild. Plucking them increases the actual Pikmin count for the team, meaning that if the Pikmin are not plucked, they count as not belonging to the player in the first place.
Each player has an Onion, to which Pikmin can carry their spoils. Upon delivery, new Pikmin are created, and the Onion follows the same rules as it would in Story mode, except the maximum on-field limit for each player is 50 Pikmin instead. Seeing as leaders cannot access the Onion menu, the Onion is in charge of automatically spitting out Pikmin seeds whenever there is space for them in the field. Pikmin that die to opposing Pikmin attacks simply respawn at the Onion.
There are some special collectibles scattered around the stage, which have different effects when recovered. Leaders cannot damage each other or opposing Pikmin with punches, not even if enemies are around to enable punching. Enemy Pikmin can however attack opposing leaders and their army. If a leader has Pikmin latched on, the player can shake them off by repeatedly spinning 
/ 
/ . Like in Pikmin 2, leaders that are being attacked by Pikmin cannot do anything but move about and shake them off, but unlike in Pikmin 2, leaders can be downed from Pikmin attacks, although it does take a while.
In Pikmin 3, the Wii U GamePad provides a map of the area, and Off-TV Play cannot be enabled. Since there is no GamePad in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, each player can instead open the radar on their own half of the screen. In either game, this map merely shows the area in its entirety and cannot be interacted with. It shows the location of fruits, enemies, Cupid's Grenades, leaders and Pikmin. The color of the Pikmin's dots represent the Pikmin type, not the team. Oddly, in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, it is not possible to move while the radar is up, unless the leader is holding a Pikmin. In Pikmin 3 Deluxe players can also press a button to make the camera face north and, for a few seconds, display a blinking arrow that points to their team's Onion.
Maps
There are 12 stages to choose from in Bingo Battle. There are 6 themes (garden, construction site, cavern, sandbox, metal, and toy), and there are two stages for each theme. Three of the themes (cavern, metal, and toy) are similar to cave themes seen in Pikmin 2.
Each stage has three layouts. Each layout has two sides, and each side has positions for its Onion, leaders, Pikmin, etc. At the start of a battle, one of the stage's available layouts is randomly picked, and each player is randomly assigned one of the sides. Player 1 will always appear on the left half of the screen, so the stage will always be rotated such that player 1 is on the western side. In Pikmin 3 Deluxe, players can use the pause menu to restart the battle – this will use the same stage layout, but it will reshuffle the player sides, and will generate new bingo cards.
At the start of the saved game, players only have the first stage available, but each time a battle is finished in the newest available stage, the next one in the list is unlocked. Likewise, each stage only has one layout available when played for the first time, and every time a battle is finished, another layout is unlocked on that stage, up to three layouts total. The order in which layouts are unlocked depends on the stage, and is explained in the "Layouts" section of each stage's article.
Ways to win
There are four ways to become victorious:
- Score a bingo: By completing a row, column, or diagonal line of four items on their bingo card, the player immediately wins.
- Stealing the Victory Macaroon: By enabling the Victory Macaroon mode, players can steal this object from their opponent's base and deliver it to their Onion to win. This is similar to stealing an opponent's marble from 2-Player Battle.
- Causing a Pikmin extinction: If the player's entire population of Pikmin perishes, the opposing player wins. This cannot happen with an inter-Pikmin battle, since Pikmin that die to opposing Pikmin simply respawn at the Onion.
- Leader down: If a leader loses all of their health, the other player's team wins, even if there is another living leader on the team.
Even if there are not enough remaining items for one player to score a bingo, the match continues, as powerups could theoretically still allow for them to win.
Options
Before starting, players must choose their control method. Players can choose any of the control schemes they could in Story Mode. It is possible to re-establish the control types for each player by choosing the icon on the lower-right corner of the screen, but it is not possible to change controls mid-battle – the exception to this is toggling Stylus mode on the GamePad via the pause menu.
Before the battle starts, players can also set the following match options:
- Victory Macaroon: Setting this to on will enable the Victory Macaroons. The default value is off.
- Battle Type: Allows players to choose the number of starting leaders: one or two. The default value is 1 vs 1. Every other time this option is set to on, the secondary leader on player 1's team toggles between Brittany and Charlie.
- Number of Pikmin: Allows players to choose the starting number of Pikmin (excluding those buried), for each team individually, in increments of five. If the chosen number of starting Pikmin plus the number of Pikmin buried in the wild exceeds 50, the number of starting Pikmin will be decreased accordingly. The option to start with 1 Pikmin is also available. The maximum amount is 50, and the default value is 5 for each team.
Bingo card
Each player starts with a 4 × 4 bingo card, that is randomly generated when the match starts. The card is filled with items that can be recovered in the current stage – fruits, enemies and marbles. Every time an item is recovered, that square becomes highlighted. By highlighting four squares in the same row, column, or diagonal line, the player wins. When a line is one item away from being cleared, a dotted line appears on the HUD. This can happen for more than one line at once.
Any item that is held inside an enemy appears as a question mark, and is only transformed into its correct drawing once the unknown enemy that held it is defeated. If an item has already been recovered by the opponent, a no symbol appears on top of it.
Collectibles
Certain special collectibles appear on the stage.
Victory Macaroon
The Victory Macaroon is a macaron (a sweet that sometimes goes by the name "macaroon") with a team-colored flag on top. Each one starts near its team's Onion, and is available for capture by the enemy's Pikmin. If the opponent delivers the macaroon to their own Onion, they are declared the victor. A player's Pikmin can carry their own macaroon back to their base, but because it cannot be delivered to the Onion, the Pikmin carrying it behave oddly – they alternate between celebrating a successful delivery and re-grabbing it, until they eventually settle down and leave the macaroon alone. The Victory Macaroons will only appear if the corresponding option is enabled. The weight is 1, and the max carriers are 8.
Cupid's Grenade
- Main article: Cupid's Grenade.
Cupid's Grenades randomly spawn about the stage, and delivering one to an Onion grants the player with an item spin on their roulette wheel. More than one spin can be queued, and the number of spins available is presented on the HUD. Up to five spins may be in queue, and after an item is used, the next spin in the queue instantly takes place. Cupid's Grenades stop spawning after Lucky Marbles begin doing so. The weight is 1, and the max carriers is 2.
Golden Grenade
- Main article: Golden Grenade.
Golden Grenades resemble Cupid's Grenades, but are completely golden. When one is delivered to an Onion, the corresponding player's roulette wheel spin queue is filled. As such, it is more efficient to first use the spins in queue before recovering a Golden Grenade. The weight is 1, and the max carriers are 2, but unlike Cupid's Grenades which are carried very quickly, these are transported at a normal pace. They tend to appear next to the Onion of the player that is behind, when the other player is one-away from victory.
Lucky Marble
A Lucky Marble is a golden marble that resembles the helmet and head of the President of Hocotate Freight. Upon being delivered, it fills up a random unfilled space on the player's bingo card. If the player is one away before this happens, the screen will spread over to show that player's screen more, since there is a possibility that the Lucky Marble can fill the last slot needed. The marble's weight is 1 and the max carriers is 8.
Lucky Marbles can be found in three ways:
- After any match has gone on for eight minutes, the message "Give it a spin!" appears and Lucky Marbles start randomly spawning. At this point, Cupid's Grenades stop spawning, and the music changes to a calmer mood.
- The Lucky Marble item will give the player the exact same effects as if they had successfully collected a Lucky Marble.
- Lucky Marbles are also naturally present in some stages, usually in hard-to-reach places such as behind walls or on a high ledge:
- Twisted Cavern, layout C: In the room with the Bug-eyed Crawmad, in an alcove guarded by an Orange Bulborb.
- Rusted Labyrinth, layout C: Center stage, on the side of the brick walls opposite to the iron ball.
- Jigsaw Fortress, layout A: One can be found very high atop a building made of blocks. This building is at floor level, and is the one closest to the baskets in the background. A second can be found on the bottom level of the fortress, on a room pointing towards the grounded player's Onion, guarded by an Orange Bulborb.
- Buried Pond, layout A: Under a flukeweed in the central island.
- Sandbox Kingdom, layout A: Buried at the center of the stage.
- Corroded Maze, layout C: Two are buried at the center of the stage.
- Jigsaw Colosseum, layout C: One can be found just south of the player 1's base, beyond an electric gate, and another can be found just north of the player 2's base, also beyond an electric gate.
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The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 3. |
Items
A player can get items by carrying cherries back to their Onion. If a Golden Grenade is obtained, the player gets five items in storage. To use the items, the player must press 
/ 
/ , tap the item icon if on Stylus mode, or hold 
/ 
and choosing the rightmost option. Before an item becomes available to use, the roulette must first spin, which takes around three seconds. The spinning stops the player from being able to use items one right after the other. These are the possible items:
| Icon | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |
+10 Pikmin | Makes the user's Onion generate ten of the player's starting Pikmin. |
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+5 Rare Pikmin | Makes the user's Onion spawn five of the type of Pikmin the player did not start with. This item is not available on maps that only have one type of Pikmin. |
 |
Lightning | Strikes opponents and their nearby non-Yellow Pikmin with an immobilizing current of lightning. Like all electric hazards in this game, it simply immobilizes them, and proves no direct harm to the Pikmin. |
 |
Lucky Marble | Acts the same as if collecting a Lucky Marble. |
 |
Rock Storm | Causes four large boulders to fall near where the opponent's leader is standing, killing any non-Rock Pikmin. It's harder to dodge these boulders than their Pikmin 2 counterparts. A leader can escape intact if they are always moving throughout the storm. If the player knows that the strike is incoming, they can dismiss their Pikmin to minimize the death toll. These boulders can also harm leaders and Pikmin from the team that spawned them, as well as Pikmin that are shocked on the floor. |
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Ultra-spicy spray | Instantly makes the player's Pikmin gain the effects of an ultra-spicy spray. |
 |
Enemy Annihilator | Kills all on-screen enemies. Mini-boss enemies will not be hurt. |
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Bomb | Causes a bomb rock to spawn in front of the player's leader. |
 |
Shuffle | Scrambles the opponent's bingo card. Although rare, it's possible that the items will be shuffled in a way that triggers a victory for the opponent. |
 |
Mine | Spawns a mine in front of the active leader. Pikmin can carry these, just like bomb rocks. When the Pikmin is thrown, the mine sticks to wherever the Pikmin hits, and will only detonate when a leader walks by. |
 |
Warp | Teleports the opponent to a random area on the map, along with any Pikmin under their control. It is possible for Warp to send the opponent to an inaccessible place, such as the high buckets in Shaded Terrace that only Yellow Pikmin can reach. |
 |
Macaroon Recovery | Transports the player's macaroon back to their Onion, even if it is already nearby. This item is only available when playing with the "Victory Macaroon" option on. |
Strategies
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The following article or section contains guides. |
Using items
Just as always, there is a proper time and way to use each item.
- Lightning: Use the lightning when the opponent's leader has a large group of Pikmin with them. It is best used when the leader is busy fighting an enemy, or holding an explosive.
- Rock Storm: This is also best used when the leader is with a large group of Pikmin. Try not to use it if your opponent is near an enemy, as the rocks will destroy the enemy.
- Ultra-spicy spray: Best used before fighting a mini-boss. It is also good to use it before fighting your opponent's Pikmin. Finally, it is also good to use if any Pikmin are not flowered yet.
- Enemy Annihilator: Use this with as many enemies on screen as possible. If there is just one enemy left to win, find it and then use the powerup.
- Warp: Use it when your opponent is near an item or enemy that they need to win. Also good to use when they are trying to steal your Victory Macaroon.
- Bomb: Best to use whenever necessary. As always, use it to destroy enemies. Alternatively, try using it on any of your opponent's Pikmin trying to carry back an object.
- Shuffle: The Shuffle should be used when your opponent is close to a victory.
- Mine: This is essentially just another bomb rock. You can use it on enemies and obstacles, but it should be put onto an object that your opponent needs to win. Therefore, when they try to get it, they will lose Pikmin. Placing it near their Onion is also good. Try to keep it out of view as well, so the opponent won't notice it at first.
- Macaroon Recovery: Use it if your Macaroon is being taken. It won't have any effect otherwise.
Avoiding items
These are defensive strategies if any items are used against you.
- Lightning: Disband your Pikmin before it gets used or, if they are carrying an object, move away from them. You can also switch to another leader, if you know that said leader and their Pikmin will suffer less from the shock. If you have a Pikmin holding an explosive, avoid calling them after they are shocked. The shock will cause the explosive to be dropped and start detonating. However, shocked Pikmin are interestingly unharmed by explosions, so you can wait until after that happens.
- Rock Storm: If you see it coming, the same strategy as the lightning can also be used. If they're already coming, just keep moving forward, and if possible, go near some enemies, as the rocks can potentially kill them.
- Enemy Annihilator: Try to use this to your advantage and carry back any enemies affected by this. Because the opponent might use it to kill enemies they need, try salvaging those enemies before the opponent can reach them.
- Bomb: If you see the opponent rushing in for you, keep in mind that they could have bomb rocks, so try to avoid them or bait them into using the bomb in a way where you can escape.
- Shuffle: There is no real way to avoid this. However, by having many items on the board, it is possible that it will still result in you being one away.
- Mine: If you can notice that your opponent has one, keep a look out to see where they put it. Otherwise, if you think a mine is set somewhere, disband your squad and check for mines, so that if there's a detonation, no Pikmin will perish. Remember to also rotate the camera around before recovering important objects, as a mine might reveal itself from a different angle.
Victory Macaroons
If you have Victory Macaroons activated, defending and retrieving your macaroon – as well as stealing your opponent's macaroon – can be a problem. The following are some helpful tips:
Defense
- Leave a leader with some Pikmin near the Macaroon.
- Watch over your enemy at all times.
- Use mines and other items when necessary.
Recovering
- Bring most of your army and swarm the Macaroon.
- Attack the opponent's leaders so they can't react.
- Use items at the right time to further distract leaders.
- Do not charge at the Macaroon from behind. The Pikmin will not reach it fast enough, and will give up chasing it. Instead try throwing from behind.
Stealing
- Use White and Winged Pikmin to get the Macaroon.
- While your Pikmin are busy grabbing it, distract the enemy Pikmin with a single Pikmin.
- Use items when your opponent's leaders show up.
Badges
In Pikmin 3 Deluxe, there are six badges the player can gain from playing Bingo Battle:
- Gadget Master: Using ten different types of items in Bingo Battle.
- Game Changer: Playing a round of Bingo Battle with the Victory Macaroon rule.
- Line 'Em Up: Playing a round of Bingo Battle.
- Bingo Buff: Playing 10 rounds of Bingo Battle.
- Bingo Fiend: Playing a round on all 10 Bingo Battle maps.
- Pincer Attack: Being one space away from winning a round in Bingo Battle on two separate rows and/or columns.
Gadget Master. The badge shows a Cupid's Grenade in the middle of a roulette wheel.
Game Changer. The badge shows a red Victory Macaroon.
Line 'Em Up. The badge shows a blank bingo card.
Bingo Buff. The badge shows a bingo card with a single row completed.
Bingo Fiend. The badge shows three bingo cards.
Pincer Attack. The badge shows a bingo card with two rows completed.
Gallery
The stage select screen in Bingo Battle.
The rules for a round of Bingo Battle.
The blue team is one item away from winning.
Player 1's card (left) has some unobtainable items, and player 2's card (right) has a couple of one-aways.
The Enemy Annihilator item being used to instantly take care of a Yellow Wollywog.
Alph stealing Olimar's victory macaroon.
The blue team activating the Rock Storm item.
The blue team carrying the red team's Victory Macaroon.
E3 2013 gameplay screenshot of Bingo Battle, where the blue team is carrying an Insect Condo to the Onion.
One of the possible control schemes in Bingo Battle.
Trivia
- Bingo Battle and Mission Mode are the only modes in which the player can find White and Purple Pikmin in Pikmin 3.
- Bingo Battle is the only instance in the whole series where White Pikmin and Purple Pikmin can be produced by an Onion.
- When the Koppaite team carries its last item back to the Onion, the Pikmin appear to chant "Kop-pai, Kop-pai". When the Hocotatian team does this, the Pikmin chant "Hocotate", or "Ho-cotate, Ho-cotate."
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
ビンゴバトル? Bingobatoru |
Bingo Battle | |
 Chinese(traditional) |
賓果對決 | Bingo Showdown | |
 Chinese(simplified) |
宾果战斗 | Bingo Showdown | |
 French |
Duel bingo | Bingo duel | |
 German |
Bingoduell | Bingo duel | |
 Italian |
Bingo | - | |
 Korean |
빙고 배틀 Binggo Baeteul |
Bingo Battle | |
 Spanish |
Batalla de bingo | Bingo Battle | |
 Russian |
Лото / Состязание Loto / Sostyazaniye |
Lotto / Competition | Names taken from Nintendo's official website |
Victory Macaroon
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese |
勝利のマカロン? Shōri no makaron |
Victory Macaroon |
| Chinese (traditional) |
勝利馬卡龍 | Victory Macaroon |
| Chinese (simplified) |
胜利马卡龙 | Victory Macaroon |
| French |
Macaron victorieux | Victory Macaroon |
| German |
Siegerdrops | Victory drops |
| Italian |
Macaron della vittoria | Victory Macaroon |
| Korean |
승리의 마카롱 seungliui makalong |
Victory Macaroon |
| Spanish |
Pastelito de la victoria | Victory Macaroon |
+10 Pikmin
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese |
ピクミン＋１０? Pikumin + 10 |
Pikmin +10 |
+5 Rare Pikmin
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese |
レアピクミン＋５? Rea Pikumin + 5 |
Rare Pikmin +5 |
Lightning
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese |
サンダー? Sandā |
Thunder |
Lucky Marble
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese |
チャンスだま? Chansu Dama |
Chance Ball |
Rock Storm
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese |
ラクセキ? Rakuseki |
Falling Rocks |
Ultra-spicy spray
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese |
ゲキカラスプレー? Gekikara Supurē |
Spicy Spray |
Enemy Annihilator
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese |
テキゼンメツ? Teki Zenmetsu |
Enemy Anihilation |
Bomb
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese |
バクダン? Bakudan |
Bomb |
Shuffle
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese |
シャッフル? Shaffuru |
Shuffle |
Mine
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese |
センサーバクダン? Sensā Bakudan |
Sensor Bomb |
Warp
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese |
ワープ? Wāpu |
Warp |
Macaroon Recovery
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese |
勝利のマカロンリターン? Shōri no Makaron Ritān |
Victory Macaroon Return |
See also
