The objective is to link at least 3 balloons in a row using the Wii Remote (Original game, Festival) or the stylus (DS, Remix, 2). The player can either point the Wii Remote at the balloon, hold A, then flick the remote in the desired direction, or hold the remote sideways for a conventional control style. The DS version is more simple, as the player can quickly move balloons by holding the stylus on the balloon and sliding in the desired direction. If the colors of the balloons match, a 3–5-second countdown will start (depending on the amount of combos made), allowing the player to combine any adjacent balloons of the same color or make additional combinations of other colors, if possible. If the timer runs out, or the player presses the B button, the balloons will pop. There is an overflow line at the bottom of the screen that will end the game should too many balloons build up or the grid of balloons scroll past the line. In the 2007 version and Festival, the player starts at January and must get through all 12 months, ending at December, without getting a Game Over. Once the player reaches Level 100 or higher; overflowing the screen at this point will begin a credit sequence, showing a restored Earth. A credits minigame will begin where the player can shoot down balloons, UFOs, and the Balloon Bandit/King in the end for a score boost) In the DS version, the game continues endlessly regardless of level and will only end once the line is breached or if the player manually quits, though a high score will only be saved if the former occurs on DS; the latter simply shows the Game Over screen and returns to the title screen.