? Block

? Blocks
First Appearance	Super Mario Bros. (1985)

? Blocks, also called Question Blocks, are blocks featuring a question mark that can contain another course element, such as a power-up or an enemy. When activated, ? Blocks will release the item and turn into an Empty Block.

History

Super Mario Maker

? Blocks can be placed anywhere in the level, as well as being placed on tracks.

Dragging Wings onto a ? Block will cause the block to fly to the left indefinitely in a wave pattern. When a winged ? Block is activated, it will lose its wings, freeze in place, and turn into an Empty Block. Causing such a block to despawn will make it respawn as an Empty Block but at the winged ? Block's original spawn point, not the location where it was activated.

Contents

? Blocks can contain any power-up, a coin, or a vine. They can also contain any placeable enemy/item except for bill blasters, bumpers, burners, cannons, chained chain chomps (unchained chomps are allowed), fire bars, flimsy lifts, grinders, lakitus (lakitu's clouds are allowed), lava lifts, lifts, one-way walls, skewers, and Thwomps.

If no item is placed inside a ? Block, activating the block will reward the player with a single coin.

If a coin is placed inside a ? Block, activating the block will originally reward the player with a single coin. Then, unless the block is winged or placed on a track, after being activated once, the block may be activated repeatedly for further coins (up to 10) until a certain time period passes. At this point, activating the block again will reward a final coin and the block will turn into an Empty Block.

If a vine is placed inside a ? Block, activating the block and then despawning it will cause it to respawn as an unactivated ? Block, rather than an Empty Block. This is unique to the vine element; a ? Block containing any other item can only be activated once.

If a key is placed inside a ? Block, activating or destroying the block will immediately give the player the key.

Style-Specific Variations

In the Super Mario Bros. 3 game style, ? Blocks may be activated by Raccoon Mario with a tail swipe from either side.

In the Super Mario World game style, ? Blocks may be activated by Cape Mario with a cape twirl from either side. They may also be activated by throwing an ignited Bob-omb, a Galoomba, a trampoline, or any of the previously mentioned shells up into the block from below.

In the New Super Mario Bros. U game style, ? Blocks may be activated by ground pounding them from above.

Mechanics

Spawn Behavior

Typically, the contents of a ? Block will spawn from the top of the block. When activated from the top (such as by a falling Thwomp) the contents will spawn from the bottom of the block.

If there is not room for the item to spawn, it will attempt to spawn and then disappear with a small blooping noise. However, if a ? Block containing a vine is blocked at the top and activated from below or the side, the vine will simply spawn from the bottom of the block instead. Similarly, if a ? Block containing a vine is blocked at the bottom and activated from the top, the vine will spawn from the top of the block.

How to Activate

? Blocks may be activated by Mario's head from below (unless Mario is wearing a spiky shell helmet, in which case the block will be destroyed rather than activated). They may also be activated from either side or from below by any type of small shell, including buzzy beetle shells, koopa troopa shells, shell helmets, spiny shells, and Bowser Jr. during his shell phase. If a falling Thwomp hits a ? Block from above, the block will also be activated.

The giant variations of any of these enemies (buzzy beetle shells, koopa troopa shells, spiny shells, Bowser Jr., and Thwomps) will destroy a ? Block rather than activating it.

See Also

v • eSuper Mario Maker 2
Game Styles	Super Mario Bros. • Super Mario Bros. 3 • Super Mario World • New Super Mario Bros. U • Super Mario 3D World
Game Modes	Endless Challenge • Network Play • Ninji Speedruns • Story Mode • Yamamura's Dojo
Transformations	Big Mario • Builder Mario • Cape Mario • Cat Mario • Fire Mario • Link • Propeller Mario • Raccoon Mario • Small Mario • Super Mario • Superball Mario
Course Elements	Terrain	? Block • Brick Block • Bridge • Clear Pipe • Cloud Block • Conveyor Belt • Donut Block • Gentle Slope • Empty Block • Ground • Hard Block • Hidden Block • Ice Block • Jelectro • Mushroom Platform • Music Block • Note Block • Pipe • Rotating Block • Sea Urchin • Semisolid Platform • Steep Slope • Spike Block • Spike Trap • Track
	Items	1-Up Mushroom • Big Coin • Big Mushroom • Cape Feather • Coin • Fire Flower • Frozen Coin • Pink Coin • Propeller Mushroom • Master Sword • Rotten Mushroom • Shoe Goomba • Stiletto Goomba • Super Bell • Super Hammer • Super Leaf • Super Mushroom • Super Star • Superball Flower • Yoshi Egg
	Enemies	Angry Sun • Ant Trooper (Horned) • Blooper (Nanny) • Bob-omb • Boo (Buddies • Stretch) • Boom Boom (Pom Pom) • Bowser (Jr. • Meowser) • Bully • Buzzy Beetle (Shell) • Chain Chomp • Charvaargh • Cheep Cheep (Blurp • Deep Cheep) • Dry Bones (Shell) • Fire Bro (Heavy) • Fish Bone • Galoomba (Goombud) • Goomba (Goombrat) • Hammer Bro (Sledge Bro) • Hop-Chop • Koopa Clown Car (Fire) • Koopa Troopa (Beach Koopa • Car) • Lakitu (Cloud) • Lava Bubble • Magikoopa • Moon • Monty Mole • Muncher • Piranha Plant (Creeper • Fire • Jumping) • Peepa • Pokey (Snow) • Porcupuffer • Rocky Wrench • Skipsqueak (Spiny) • Spike (Ball • Snowball) • Spike Top • Spiny (Egg • Shell) • Stingby • Thwomp • Wiggler
	Gizmos	! Sign • Arrow Sign • Banzai Bill • Bill Blaster • Blinking Block • Bumper • Burner • Cannon • Checkpoint Flag • Conveyor Belt • Dash Block • Fire Bar • Grinder • Icicle • Key • Lift (Cloud • Flimsy • Lava) • Mushroom Trampoline • ON/OFF Switch (Dotted-Line Block) • One-Way Wall • P Block • P Switch • POW Block • Seesaw • Snake Block • Skewer • Swinging Claw • Tree • Track • Track Block • Twister • Vine • Warp Door • Warp Box
	Other	Stone