Clipboard

A clipboard in Pikmin 3.

A clipboard in Pikmin 4.

The clipboard is an obstacle in Pikmin 3 and Pikmin 4. It functions very differently in each game.

In Pikmin 3, it is a wooden board with a pink handle on it, and it is connected to the terrain by a hinge. It can be lifted by the handle, where it either opens something concealed, or serves as a bridge to cross a gap with. Eight Winged Pikmin are required to lift a clipboard. When they finish lifting it, they will naturally follow a path back to the leader, but if they are whistled before reaching the leader, they will use the regular path-finding algorithm, which could result in them getting stuck behind the newly-lifted clipboard. Hence, it is advised to not whistle the Pikmin after they have finished lifting the board.

In Pikmin 4, clipboards are metal boards which start in an angled position, with either a grey handle or a yellow handle. Pikmin can be thrown up to the handle from below, and once a certain amount are holding it, the clipboard will be pulled down and can be used as a bridge to cross the gap the clipboard was over. Clipboards with grey handles can be reached by all Pikmin types, while clipboards with yellow handles can only be reached by Yellow Pikmin, Winged Pikmin, or Glow Pikmin using a Glowmob. Some clipboards require 10 Pikmin to bring down and some require 20; once this number is reached, the Pikmin will jump off and land close to where they were thrown.