Twelve sports, split into nine competitive disciplines and three leisure activities. Each one has its own motion vocabulary, its own scoring rules and its own set of five in-game Achievements. Here is what every sport actually asks you to do.
One Joy-Con pair per player, each Joy-Con acting as one glove. Keep the Joy-Con upright and punch forward. Boxing is also the sport where the Island Crown opponents double as scripted tutorials, so it is the friendliest place to learn the ladder system. Ranked matches are strictly 1v1.
A single Joy-Con is held sideways like a paddle. Short, sharp wrist motions read better than big swings, and the game tracks rotation rather than position, so a wrist flick that looks small on screen often lands as a fast smash.
This sport uses two Joy-Con 2: one acts as the bow, the other as the string. Pulling the string Joy-Con further back zooms in, which is the only way to hold a steady aim. Account for wind, arrow drop and height, and remember that aiming dead centre often falls short of the target.
Archery also has a special rules mode where the target is split into four colour-coded quadrants, one per player. Hit a rival's quadrant and the points go to them, and the current leader's quadrant shrinks over time - so leading is a liability.
Swing slightly before the peak of the toss - the window is roughly two frames - and connect at the top of the swing to land a Power Serve. Tennis has one of the shortest match loops in the game, which makes it a top-tier Spocco Points farm.
Hold the Joy-Con flat and use an open-hand motion to set and spike. Positioning matters more than power: the ball is scored on where it lands on the opponent's half of the court.
Two modes: standard 10-pin and a 100-pin mode with a maximum of 3,000 pins. You can reposition and adjust the angle of approach, and twisting your wrist at the release adds spin. Release the ball as your hand passes your leg, and do not press ZR or ZL mid-throw - an early button press dumps the ball short. Aim at the 1-3 pocket rather than the middle of the lane, because the middle causes splits.
Charge, then shoot with a forward motion; the release timing sets the shot type. Defending is done by moving the Joy-Con to track the ball carrier.
Classic three-click swing for direction and power. Check the wind meter before you adjust your aim - wedges and irons are pushed around by wind far more than drives are, so the same wind that barely touches a drive can ruin an approach shot.
The brand-new competitive sport and the biggest departure from Wii Sports. Hold the Joy-Con vertically in a fist, twist your wrist to position your thumb, and press R to drop it lower. It is a game of feints and pinning rather than reflexes. Charge your thumb downward to make it bigger and pin harder, feint by dropping early, then counter-pin. When you are the one being pinned, shake the Joy-Con side to side to break free, and shake harder each attempt.
The showcase mini-game, and the only sport that requires Joy-Con 2 mouse mode. Lay a Joy-Con 2 flat on a stable tabletop, then pull it toward you to build speed, tilt to steer, and lift it to hop onto grind rails. It is offline-only, has no Island Crown ladder, and is one of three ways to trigger Spocco Photo events.
Jet ski handling with the Joy-Con grip. Steer with the handlebar, lean to carve, and use it to hunt the 60 boat-based Spocco Photos around the island.
Tilting the Joy-Con controls the model plane. It is the primary way to trigger the 105 plane-based Spocco Photos, and the fastest overall method of touring the island.