Story mode consists of 5 separate boards: the goal in each is to have more Emblems than your opponents by the end of the stage. Emblems are awarded at the final tally based on 3 criteria: most Precioustones acquired, most Rings collected, and most minigames won. (Bonus Emblems can be earned by completing each board's unique Quest.) There are 7 Precioustone shards on each board and the stage ends when all half-dozen have been collected, but since only 1 shard appears at a time, the race for gems tends to drag on. When a jewel has been acquired by any player, another appears elsewhere on the board until all 7 have been pilfered: Pearl, Crystal, Garnet, Sapphire, Amethyst, Diamond, and Precioustone. At the end of the stage, all collected Rings are saved in a tally used to purchase art and special features from the Sonic Room.

   At the start of the game, each player is delt 7 random cards valued 1-6. Your cards remain hidden from your opponents: look down at the VM memory screen in your controller to see what you've got. Play any card in your hand to have your character move the number of spaces depicted on the card's face. Play a Special Card (labelled "S") to move 7 squares or plunk down a Dr. Eggman Card to initiate the Eggman roulette, potentially stalling either your opponents or yourself. If you run out of cards or if you just get stuck with a crummy hand, you may opt to steal a card from another player - this is a risky business because you can't see the card you're swiping until it's been played. Note, however, that no new cards are dealt until each player's hand is empty, so larceny tends to run rampant toward the end of each round.

   There are 15 different types of squares. Land on one to trigger a unique event:

   Plus Ring squares normally occupy the majority of the board, but when the players begin landing on too many, Eggman flies down in his hovercraft to send the entire playfield into "darkness mode". While in darkness mode, all Plus Rings become Minus Rings and vice versa. Once enough Minus squares have been tagged, Eggman flies down again and (inadvertently) reverts the board to normal mode. The notorious master of hen fruit can also be summoned by playing a Dr. Eggman Card: when so beckoned, the evildoer spins his magic roulette of villainy to inflict one of 16 random punishments on his summoner or all players:

1. Lose all your Rings
2. Everybody can see your cards for 2 turns
3. Switch places with another player
4. Warp to a random square
5. For 5 turns, you always play a 1 in battle
6. You get a Carbuncle Force Jewel
7. Eggman uses the Gearsdain Force Jewel on you
8. Can't see your cards for 3 turns
9. Instant surprise battle
10. The value of every card in your hand increases by 1
11. For 5 turns, you can only move 1 space
12. For 3 turns, all your cards become Dr. Eggman Cards
13. All squares become invisible for 5 turns
14. All players are given a Swap Jewel
15. For 4 turns, all squares become Minus Ring squares
16. Lose 1 turn

   Force Jewels are tiny rainbow-colored balls of destruction that, wielded strategically, can turn the tables on any game regardless of the odds. They can be won from monster battles, minigames and events, or purchased from Jewel Shop squares. Each player can hold up to 6 and use 1 per turn - either on the board or in the heat of battle. There are a total of 38 different types of Force Jewels, each with its own potent effects. Jewels that initiate direct attacks on other players pick their victims by way of a roulette.

   There are a total of 8 playable characters, each low-poly model plucked straight out of Sonic Adventure. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy are playable from the start and can be used in Story or Versus modes. Big, Gamma, Chao, and Super Sonic are unlocked by purchasing art from the Sonic Room and can only be used in Versus mode. Each cel-shaded hero possesses three special moves: one for board navigation, one basic attack, and one powerful S card attack that inflicts greater damage.

	Sonic the Hedgehog Spin Dash (スピンダッシュ) - Play the same number for 2 consecutive turns and Sonic will move twice as far (ie, roll 3 twice and Sonic will move 6 spaces on the second turn). Note that this manuever can't be performed twice in a row. Spin Attack (スピンアタック) - Sonic's basic attack. Light Spin Attack (ライトスピンアタック) - A stronger attack that inflicts up to 7 points of damage.
	Miles "Tails" Prower Propeller flight (プロペラ飛行) - Tails can fly over Tails squares, which no other character can cross. tail rotation attack (シッポ回転攻撃) - Tails' basic attack. continuous tail rotation (連続シッポ回転攻撃) - Use 2 cards for double damage.
	Knuckles the Echidna wall climb (カベ登り) - Knuckles can climb over vertical Knuckles squares, which no other character can cross. Punch attack (パンチ攻撃) - Knuckles' basic attack. Dash Punch attack (ダッシュパンチ攻撃) - Use 2 cards for double damage.
	Amy Rose Hammer Jump (ハンマージャンプ) - Amy can use her Piko-Piko Hammer to catapult over Amy Jump squares, which no other character can cross. Hammer attack (ハンマー攻撃) - Amy's basic attack. spinning hammer (回転ハンマー) - Inflicts 5 fixed points of damage.
No image	Big the Cat Kaeru-kuuun (カエルく～ん) - Play a 6 card and Big can move anywhere between 1 and 6 spaces as he follows the lead of his frog buddy. Lure attack (ルア攻撃) - Big's basic attack. strong man (力持ち) - Adds an additional point of damage to a normal attack.
No image	E-102 "Gamma" transformation (変形) - Play a 4, 5, or 6 card to have Gamma's lower half transform, making him immune to Minus Ring squares. Gun fire (ガン発射) - Gamma's basic attack. alignment laser (照準レーザー) - Dual card roulettes flash numbers 1-3: stop the cards and the total of the 2 numbers will be inflicted as damage.
No image	Chao Chao has no special movement ability. sing (歌う) - Chao's basic attack. lullaby (子守歌を歌う) - Fail to defeat the enemy, and it will not retaliate.
No image	Super Sonic high-speed movement (高速移動) - Play the same number for 2 consecutive turns and Super Sonic will move twice as far. The combo can be chained up to 3 times. body blow (体当たり) - Super Sonic's basic attack. Sonic dance (ソニック乱舞) - Inflicts 4-6 points of damage determined by a card roulette.

   The story mode consists of 5 separate boards, each representing a different dream within the trippy dimension of Maginari Whirl:

   The board game monotony is occasionally broken up with a short action minigame that pits all 4 players against each other or the computer in a contest for Rings and/or Force Jewels. "Accident" minigames are stage-specific and occur at intervals, but all others are pulled at random when any player lands on an Event square.

   Versus mode is identical to story mode sans the sparse cutscenes. Players can choose any board (regardless of whether or not it's been accessed in the scenario game) and may select from an extended roster of characters. When 2 players land on the same square, they enter a Duel: the dueling characters race to flip hidden cards to amass Rings. The two neutral players may sabotage the combatants by shuffling said cards. The loser misses out on his/her next turn. (Note that Rings amassed in versus games are not saved to the Sonic Room tally.)

   From the main menu players may access the Sonic Room, a trophy shelf of achievements where any previously accessed minigame may be sampled at will. Rings amassed in the story mode can be used to purchase images and special features (such as hidden characters) in the Sonic Gallery photo album. Other goodies include a sound test and language option to toggle between English and Chinese board graphics (dialogue and subtitles cannot be changed).

PC goodies: Pop the game disc into a PC CD drive to access bitmap wallpapers adequate for sprucing up a dreary Windows desktop.

• Amy's voice is provided by actress Emi Motoi rather than cast regular Taeko Kawata. The reason for the temporary swap remains a mystery.
• Issue #92 (January 2001) of the Archie comic book features a back story loosely based on Sonic Shuffle.