Monkey Ball DS features the same basic gameplay idea as its predecessors, although a shift in control to the stylus ought to make for a different feel. The top screen displays the action in 3D. The bottom screen shows a 2D version of your monkey ball with AiAi inside. To move on the top screen, you scratch the monkey ball with the stylus.

The game offers over 100 stages, some pulled from previous entries and some new. In addition, play six party games, of which two will be playable by up to four players-- in a hockey-style party game, you draw lines with the stylus in order to deflect a puck, while the racing party game is a fast-paced racer with the top screen showing a map of the track.