Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival is a strange bird. When it was first revealed at E3, it was made out to be a digital board game in the style of Mario Party. Yet, there are a number of other modes within the package. Above all, Amiibo Festival seems tailored to hardcore Animal Crossing fans. And while typing “hardcore” and “Animal Crossing” together seems strange to me, the type and density of content packed into the game will be most appreciated by truly dedicated fans of the series.

Board Game is the mode that’s been shown off the most. By tapping an Animal Crossing figure Amiibo on your turn the die is rolled. If you don’t have any Animal Crossing figurines, it turns out that the card Amiibos are detected differently and will not work. However, you still have the option to play as a generic villager. The physical edition comes with Isabelle and Digby Amiibo figurines Each space represents a vignette of an event that leads to the gain or loss of bells or happy points. The vignettes include a text-heavy description and are specific to the character whose Amiibo you’re using. For instance, business-tanuki Tom Nook’s events always involve trying to make money, while Isabelle’s involve things like taking a correspondence course. In deepening their stories, the vignettes are humorous and endearing if you know the characters, but probably less so if you don’t.

There isn’t a ton of variation in traversing the board itself, but various events take place as time elapses, introduced by the varied Animal Crossing cast. One particularly neat event is the “stalk market.” Here, you can buy turnips with the hope of selling them for a profit, depending on the space you land on. But the market fluctuates, meaning potentially large profits or losses. Ultimately, the goal is to collect the most happy points, which can be used to buy decorations. Happy Home Designer designs can also be imported into Amiibo Festival, and will appear integrated into the Board Game.

In Desert Island Escape, you choose three Amiibo cards to send three characters, each with their own special abilities, to a desert island. The island is made up of hexagonal tiles reminiscent of Settlers of Catan. The game proceeds like a mini strategy game where characters take turns exploring and taking actions. The map starts out obscured by clouds and areas are revealed through exploring. Items can be found on various tiles and can even be crafted into tools. The characters must escape in seven days by finding materials to build a raft.

Quiz Show is where the truest of true Animal Crossing fans can prove themselves. This mode features questions about various Animal Crossing items and fauna that only experienced players would be able to answer. Turns flip back and forth between the players and when your character is highlighted, you have to tap the Amiibo to answer (or else be penalized). If you miss, you’ll be locked out for a turn. The multiple choice answers on the touch screen slowly disappear in order to help with the real stumpers. You can use the card-based Amiibos to “phone a friend” -- however, the actual help you get from the characters is pretty limited, if not amusing.

The collection of minigames is polished, yet unconventional, almost as if the Animal Crossing developers were tasked with making fan games based around the series, which was packaged together as Amiibo Festival. More mysteries remain as I only experienced three of the modes that Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival has to offer.