The first hour of Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is where most players decide whether they will keep playing. This walkthrough gets you from power-on to a working Island Crown ladder without wasting your first Spocco Points.
You need a Nintendo Switch 2 with the Joy-Con 2 controllers, and the game does not run on the original Switch. Use TV mode or Tabletop mode - handheld mode is listed as unsupported. Strap both Joy-Con on, pair them to the console, and run the motion calibration from System Settings before you launch the game.
Pick a Sportsmate rather than a Mii if you want access to the cosmetics. The large majority of clothing and equipment items in the Item Center are Sportsmate-only, and Mii support is a comparatively thin "poor second". If you do want a Mii, the built-in Mii Maker works, but the customisation options are limited.
One pair of Joy-Con serves two players. For four players you need two pairs. Note that Skateboarding is the one exception - it needs a single Joy-Con 2 laid flat in mouse mode, so a four-player Skateboarding session needs four individual Joy-Con 2. Also make sure you select your own profile rather than joining as a guest.
Jump Rope is a warm-up activity rather than a thirteenth sport, and it is the gentlest way to teach the Joy-Con what your wrist motion looks like. Do it before your first real match.
Both have short match loops, forgiving motion, and the highest points-per-minute in the game. Bowl a few games and play a few tennis matches - this is where you learn the wrist-flick timing that carries over into table tennis and volleyball.
Do not try to ladder all nine sports at once. Pick the sport you actually enjoy, start at rank 20, and work upward. The early opponents act as tutorials - this is most explicit in Boxing - so the first few matches teach you the ranking rules while you learn the motion.
Head to the Item Center in the island hub and make your first pulls. Separately, open each sport's submenu to look for the Achievements list - the UI buries it, and every Achievement awards a sport-specific cosmetic you will otherwise never know to claim.
Once the competitive loop is working, open the Sightseeing Tour and use Prop Plane, the Skateboard or the jet ski to sweep the island. This is where the 245 Spocco Photos and 128 Island Missions live - balloons, hibiscus flowers and dolphins.
With friends, set up a Friend Lobby for up to eight players (two per console). Once you have a few wins under your belt, jump into the ranked Pro League, which starts at rank E and runs through twelve tiers.
Skateboarding, Power Cruising and Prop Plane cannot be played online and have no ladder. Save Data Cloud is supported but requires Nintendo Switch Online, and there is no save carryover from the 2021 Nintendo Switch Sports.