The Backyardigans: Mission to Mars is based on a CGI animated children's television series created by Nickelodeon executive Janice Burgess. The heroes are preschool age creatures whose imaginations turn their backyard into a place of adventure, in this game, Uniqua, Pablo, and Austin travel to Mars to investigate the origin of a strange signal Mission Control is picking up. Gameplay is similar to that in the Dora the Explorer games, completed mini-games move the player through the story. In this case, each mini-game brings the Backyardigans closer to the source of the strange sounds, and rewards the player with space specimens that will be analyzed on returning to earth - these specimens contain music and printable pages.