WarioWare's core gameplay principles revolve around the concept of "microgames", fast-paced minigames that must be completed within a demanding time limit.[1] Mega Microgames! features over 210 microgames across nine stages hosted by Wario and his companions, each centered around themes such as sports, nature and classic Nintendo games, as well as remix stages that feature microgames from previous stages.[2][3] In each stage, microgames appear consecutively, presenting the player with a simple prompt with which to clear the microgame with. Failing a microgame, either by losing the game or running out of time, one of four lives will be deducted, with the stage ending once the player runs out of lives.[4][3] As the player keeps playing, the game speeds up, making microgames' time limits shorter and forcing the player to complete them faster.[5] At the end of a set number of microgames, the player must complete a "boss stage"; a longer microgame without a set time limit.[6] When playing a stage for the first time, players are simply required to clear enough microgames and defeat the boss stage without running out of lives, which unlocks the next stage or set of stages. If a stage has already been cleared once, players will instead play for a high score, seeing how many microgames they can clear before running out of lives. Players can regain one of their lost lives by defeating boss battles, but the difficulty and speed of the microgames further increase the longer the player manages to survive.[3] In addition to the main stages, players can unlock various minigames by clearing certain unlock conditions in-game. These games include high score challenges such as a jump rope minigame, competitive games which can be played with two players using the same system, and Wario-fied versions of Dr. Mario and Sheriff.[7][8]