[5] In Showdown mode, players play on different boards, akin to Nintendo's Mario Party series.

[5] The game's sandbox mode is more like prior Scribblenauts installments and sees the player trying to solve NPC's issues by creating objects using a magical notebook.

[13] Marco Esposto of IGN Italy praised Showdown, calling it a "classic" party game.

[15] The game's minigames received mixed reception among critics; Robert Handlery of GameSpot called them "boring",[25] Gav Murphy of IGN Nordic stated that some of them are "awesome",[26] and Stephen Tailby of Push Square called them "hit or miss".

[4] Daan Koopman, reviewing Showdown for Nintendo World Report, wrote that the mode is "the biggest standout" in the game.

Koopman praised the mode's animations and interactions for being "adorable" but criticized its controls for being "uncomfortable" and its missions for being "bland".