P Switch: the blue button that flips the world

ItemP SwitchSuper Mario Bros. 3

Ten seconds during which coins turn into blocks, and blocks into coins. Called the P Switch in English — and "Switch Block" in its earliest days — this big blue button debuts in Super Mario Bros. 3 in 1988. This guide breaks down the scenery flip it triggers, its true signature (the musical countdown that keeps speeding up) and how it evolved all the way to Super Mario Maker.

The P Switch is that big blue button stamped with a white "P" that flips a whole level on its head for a handful of seconds with a single stomp. Its official name is the P Switch — though at its very debut it was known as "Switch Block".

It also turns up in French under the names "Bloc P", "Bloc d'échanges" or "Bloc rotatif". Behind this unassuming button hides one of the saga's founding gameplay objects, from the musical countdown of Super Mario Bros. 3 to the most fiendish contraptions of Mario Maker.

Contents

• A blue button born in Super Mario Bros. 3
• Ten seconds that turn the scenery upside down
• Far more than just another block
• The musical countdown, its true signature
• From Super Mario World to New Super Mario Bros.
• The star tool of Super Mario Maker
• Quick recap
• FAQ

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A blue button born in Super Mario Bros. 3

The P Switch makes its big debut in Super Mario Bros. 3, released in Japan in 1988 on Famicom — Europe would not discover it until 1991. Back then, the game did not call it the P Switch yet, but "Switch Block", literally the block that works as a switch.

Visually, everything is already there: a big blue push button rising out of the ground, marked with a crisp white "P". No instruction manual needed: its button shape screams that you are meant to jump on it and slam it down. That ultra-readable design explains why the object has crossed the decades almost unchanged.

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Ten seconds that turn the scenery upside down

The principle is devastatingly simple: the moment you stomp it, the P Switch turns Brick Blocks into coins, and coins into Brick Blocks. The effect is always temporary — around ten seconds — before everything snaps back to its original form.

But its repertoire goes further. Setting it off also brings out blue coins that were invisible until then, materialises hidden platforms and opens timed passages. You are left with a very short window to grab a fortune, clear a chasm or slip through before the scenery closes up again.

• Brick Blocks to coins: a chance to rake in as many coins as possible in record time.
• Coins to Brick Blocks: rows of coins become solid steps for climbing higher.
• Blue coins: a fleeting bonus that rewards quick reflexes.

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Far more than just another block

Unlike the Brick Block or the Question Block, the P Switch is not a simple container for items: it is a gameplay mechanism that acts on the whole level. It does not just hand over a mushroom, it temporarily rewrites the rules of the scenery all around it.

Careful not to confuse it with its cousin, the ON/OFF Switch, which flips coloured blocks in a lasting way. Where the ON/OFF locks in a new state, the P Switch always imposes its relentless tempo: ten seconds, not one more.

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The musical countdown, its true signature

What makes the P Switch unforgettable is not so much its effect as its sound design. The instant it is triggered, the level music gives way to a sped-up theme that makes the countdown audible: a clock racing, a tick-tock ratcheting up the tension.

That famous "P Switch BGM" is the work of Koji Kondo, the saga's long-standing composer. Popularised in Super Mario World, the track has the peculiar habit of racing even faster as the seconds tick away, warning you that the window is closing.

The recipe has not aged a day: in Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023), a tick-tock suddenly speeds up right before the effect runs out. Here the sound acts as a genuine timer built into the gameplay.

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From Super Mario World to New Super Mario Bros.

In Super Mario World (1990 in Japan, 1992 in Europe), the item gains new flexibility: Mario can now pick up and carry the P Switch, and even set it aside to trigger it at the perfect moment. The button is no longer a fixed point: it becomes a tool you handle.

Ever since, the P Switch has been a regular of the Mushroom Kingdom. It shows up throughout the New Super Mario Bros. series — on DS, Wii, 3DS and Wii U — where it keeps swapping bricks and coins and opening timed passages, proof that the mechanic still works nearly forty years after it was created.

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The star tool of Super Mario Maker

It is in Super Mario Maker (2015) and then Super Mario Maker 2 (2019) that the P Switch reveals its full potential as a design building block. In the hands of creators, it becomes the heart of timed contraptions that are sometimes downright diabolical.

The big new addition arrives on 21 December 2015 with P Doors: these blue doors only open while a P Switch is active. Perfect for building races against the clock, secret passages to unlock in time or puzzles built entirely around that famous countdown.

Compatible with the game's different graphic styles, the P Switch proves that a simple blue button from 1988 could become, thirty years later, one of the most creative ingredients in the whole Mario workshop.

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The P Switch at a glance

French name	Interrupteur P (Bloc P, Bloc d'échanges)
English name	P Switch (originally "Switch Block")
First appearance	Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988, Japan)
Type	Push button / level mechanic
Effect	Turns Brick Blocks into coins and vice versa
Effect duration	About 10 seconds
Musical theme	"P Switch BGM", composed by Koji Kondo
Role in Mario Maker	Timed P Doors (from 2015)

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FAQ

• What is the P Switch's official French name?
  In French it is officially called Interrupteur P. It also turns up as Bloc P, Bloc d'échanges or Bloc rotatif, while the English name is P Switch.
• Which game does the P Switch first appear in?
  It debuts in Super Mario Bros. 3, released in Japan in 1988 on Famicom. Back then the game called it "Switch Block", before the name P Switch took over.
• How long does the P Switch's effect last?
  The effect is temporary and lasts about ten seconds. After that, the bricks and the coins go back to their original form, which is why you have to move fast.
• What is the P Switch used for in Super Mario Maker?
  It is used to build timed contraptions. Since late 2015 it also controls P Doors, blue doors that only open as long as a P Switch stays active.
• Why does the music speed up when you activate it?
  The musical acceleration makes the countdown audible. Popularised by Super Mario World and composed by Koji Kondo, the theme races faster as the remaining seconds run down.

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