Mario Party

is a series of party video games owned by Nintendo. It features characters from the Mario franchise in which up to four local players or computer-controlled characters (called "CPUs") compete in a board game interspersed with minigames. The series is known for its party game elements, including the often unpredictable multiplayer game modes that allow play with up to four, and sometimes eight, human players or CPUs.

The series was originally developed by Hudson Soft, from Mario Party in 1998 to Mario Party DS in 2007. Capcom would also make arcade games around this time. Starting from 2010, several of Hudson's key designers left to work for Nintendo subsidiary Nd Cube, where they would develop Wii Party. Starting with Mario Party 9 in 2012, they have taken over as the main developer of the series.

The series received generally favourable reception in the beginning, but as it progressed, the reception became more mixed until Super Mario Party in 2018, where it improved. The series holds the record for the longest-running minigame series. As of March 2025, Nintendo reported that the series has sold over 84 million copies.

Gameplay

thumb|[[Luigi (character)|Luigi navigating the "Peach's Birthday Cake" game board in the original Mario Party game]]

Mario Party is a series of virtual board games that are centered on multiplayer competition and combine turn-based board game action with a variety of minigames. Players select from a roster of Mario characters and play on one of several themed boards, each with unique layouts and interactive elements. A game lasts a set number of turns, usually 20, 40, or 60. At the game's end, bonus stars are awarded to those fulfilling certain conditions, such as winning the most minigames or moving the most spaces.

On each turn, the players roll a die to determine their movement. Landing on different spaces triggers events; blue spaces reward coins, while red spaces detract them. Special spaces trigger dynamic elements on the map that may help or hinder the player. Spaces sporting Bowser's insignia summon him, usually invoking a penalty on the player. Items, usually in the form of capsules or orbs, can be bought from shops, or randomly collected from gumball machines in the case of Mario Party 5. The player can use items to gain extra dice rolls, unlock closed areas, set traps, or teleport to the star space. Mario Party 6 features a day-night cycle that changes gameplay elements every three turns,

After every full round (or on specific spaces), the players enter a minigame, which may be played as a 4-player free-for-all, in 2-versus-2 teams, in a 1-versus-3 setup, or as a duel. The minigames range from simple button-mashing or joystick-twirling to more skill-based challenges. The winners of the minigame receive coins, while the losers either get nothing or pay out. Mario Party 3 includes a Duel mode, in which two players use a selection of up to two partners to attack their opponent and deplete their health. bonus sports games, In Mario Party 9 and Mario Party 10, every player navigates the board in a car rather than move independently of one another. Mario Party 9 has a lesser focus on strategy, and its minigames do not impact the board game in ways that the previous Mario Party games did. Critics heavily censured the car mechanic; Destructoid noted, "An over-reliance on random chance over strategy can quickly derail the experience when things go awry at the worst possible time ..." The car mechanic was kept in Mario Party 10, although Super Mario Party allows players to move individually on the board once more.

Super Mario Party Jamboree introduced a new feature called "Jamboree Buddy", where players can earn that character from winning a Showdown Minigame. Each character has a different ability like buying Stars and items at half price. In addition, players can earn double the benefits or penalties with the Jamboree Buddy for up to three turns. Super Mario Party Jamboree features the most minigames in Mario Party history with 112.

While mainly being based on elements from the mainline Super Mario series of games, early Mario Party titles would also introduce original NPCs to the franchise, such as Mini Bowser, who would initially continue to rise in relevance throughout the series, becoming the plot's main antagonistic force as well as a playable character by Mario Party 5 and being the subject of a dedicated mode in Mario Party Advance. More recent games have since removed or replaced these original characters for undisclosed reasons.

Games

Main series

Mario Party (1998)

thumb|upright|left|Luigi, Yoshi, Mario, and Peach playing Mushroom Mix-Up, one of Mario Partys 50 minigames

Mario Party is the first in the series. It was released in 1998 and 1999 for the Nintendo 64. Its roster of playable characters includes Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Donkey Kong (referred to as DK in-game), Yoshi, and Wario. It features 50 minigames, ten of which are single-player-only. Mario Partys standard game mode, Party Mode, lets up to four players play on a board interspersed with minigames. The game features eight different boards with varying difficulties. It is hosted by Toad, who guides the characters on their journeys throughout each board.

Mario Party 4 (2002)

Mario Party 4 is the first game in the series to appear on a console other than the Nintendo 64. Mario Party 4 was released for the GameCube in 2002. Mario Party 4 features the same roster of playable characters as Mario Party 3 and does not feature any new playable characters. It does, however, feature a new team battle system that allows players to team up in pairs in Party Mode, the standard game mode of the series. GameRevolution also noted the game's improved visuals while explaining that they were not representative of what the GameCube can achieve and criticized the game's textures, noting that they were not greatly detailed. GameRevolution did, however, praise its "happy" music but criticized the minigames, saying, "none really stand out". IGN, however, praised the improved visuals of the game and noted, "Mario Party 4 is exactly how you would envision it on GameCube: all-new mini-games and better visuals". IGN also called the game "an absolute must-rent if you have a few friends over for the weekend" and "definitely an 'everybody' title". These traps include forcing the player who lands on the capsule space to only be able to roll numbers from one to five on the Dice Block or forcing them to move ten spaces forward on the board. The game also features 88 new minigames.

Matt Casamassina of IGN wrote in a review for Mario Party 7, "Mario Party 7 is still entertaining, but I'd be a liar if I wrote that I'm not growing bored with new iterations of the same old formula." He further noted, "To its credit, the title delivers some fun new boards and mini-games, and the multiplayer experience is as robust and enjoyable as ever." He then went on to criticize the game's single-player mode: "But it in contrast dishes out a worthless single-player mode marred by tediously slow computer-controlled character interactions. And the overall presentation of the story, cut-scenes and real-time achievements is only passable." He called the game "a decent sequel to an aging franchise", noting, "the only people that should truly be interested in it are those dedicated to multiplayer parties. Everybody else can either make due with last year's version or avoid the series altogether."

Mario Party 8 (2007)

Mario Party 8 was the first Mario Party game for the Wii, released in 2007. It was also the last home-console game in the series to be developed by Hudson Soft, before NDcube took over the games' development starting from the next game in the series. The game features 73 new minigames, most of which utilize the motion control capabilities of the Wii Remote.

Mario Party 8 features all the characters from the last game with the addition of Blooper and Hammer Bro. Players can also play as their Mii character in certain modes.

The game's story revolves around a ringmaster, named MC Ballyhoo, and his talking hat, Big Top. After inviting Mario and his friends to a carnival, called the Star Carnival, Despite the impressive sales numbers, IGN and GameSpot criticized the game's lack of originality.

In spite of the infamous car mechanic, IGN called Mario Party 9 "the best Mario Party since the series reached its heights in the early GameCube days", further noting, "But throughout its many generations, Mario Party has carried a fatal flaw ...: In spite of your proficiency at mini-games, or penchant for board game strategy, [the Mario Party series] is dictated by the dice roll. Randomness, which Mario Party 9 flaunts with a particularly annoying brand of euphoric abandon, ultimately ruins what could be a very good game."

In Mario Party 10, the game's standard board game mode is called "Mario Party". In this mode, players compete to get the most Mini Stars, as in previous games. In the game's new Bowser Party mode, one player controls Bowser using the primary controller for the Wii U, the Wii U GamePad, Boo, Koopa Troopa, Hammer Bro, Shy Guy, Bowser Jr., Diddy Kong, Pom Pom, and Monty Mole. Additionally, Bowser, who had only previously been playable in Mario Party 10s Bowser Party and amiibo Party modes, is now playable in the standard Party Mode.

Super Mario Partys most notable change is the removal of the car mechanic. In this game, players navigate the board individually like in past Mario Party instalments.

Super Mario Party also introduces online multiplayer for the first time in the series. While the standard board games are restricted to the game's standard Party Mode, players are able to play the game's 80 minigames with other players either locally or online, independent of the board games, in the game's new "Online Mario-thon" mode. In this mode, players compete in five randomly-selected minigames, aiming to get the highest score. It also features leaderboards and a ranking system, as well as rewards that the players can receive for playing the mode.

Some sources criticized the game's lack of an online board game mode, Super Mario Party Jamboree - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV, an upgraded port of the game to the Nintendo Switch 2 which uses the console's support for camera, microphone and mouse controls, was released on July 24, 2025.

Handheld console games

Mario Party Advance (2005)

Mario Party Advance was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2005. It was the first Mario Party game for a handheld console and was the only Mario Party game for the Game Boy Advance. It features four playable characters: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Yoshi. The hosts of the game are Tumble, Toad, Professor Elvin Gadd, and Toadette. Its antagonists are Bowser and three of his children: Blue Koopa Kid, Green Koopa Kid, and Red Koopa Kid.

Its standard mode is "Shroom City", in which the player takes control of one of the playable characters and travels around the city Shroom City, completing quests and collecting minigames

Mario Party DS (2007)

Mario Party DS was released in 2007 for the Nintendo DS. It was the first and only Mario Party game for the Nintendo DS. It was also the last game in the series overall to be developed by Hudson Soft. It featured 73 minigames, many of which took use of the Nintendo DS's touchscreen, microphone, and unique dual screen capabilities, in addition to traditional-style minigames using the D-pad and buttons. The game features Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, and Toad as playable characters.

IGN noted that it was "honestly very difficult to get excited for yet another Mario Party, even though it's the first time it's been made for the Nintendo DS system." It noted that Mario Party DS is "a solid multiplayer mini-game experience with a lot of the flaws of the previous versions." It further explained, "It doesn't do anything truly special than create a bunch of touch screen and microphone-centric minigames (and even then we've seen variations of them in other DS titles), but it at least comes together as a better title than the last console Mario Party design." It features 81 minigames, many of which utilize the 3DS's touch screen and dual screen capabilities, as well as the system's other unique features. It features Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, Boo, Toad, and Bowser Jr. as playable characters. It was the first Mario Party game to feature Bowser Jr. as a playable character.

IGN criticized Mario Party: Island Tour for its "mostly bland" minigames, additionally noting, "a handful are just bad." "If you've played a Mario Party game before, you'll recognize that a majority of the games are based around returning ideas", IGN said. It cited that some of the game's minigames used the Nintendo 3DS's touchscreen "effectively" but rated the game 5.5 out of 10 for its "mostly boring minigames unfortunate system-jerking motion control."

GameSpot said that many of the minigames do a good job of taking advantage of the 3DS's unique features in their design but noted, "there are still some stinkers in the mix." "Strictly luck-based minigames turn up in the rotation frequently, and they're not any fun," GameSpot said. It also cited the game's "sluggish controls that hamper your ability to move well." Finally, it said, "It's not a perfect party by any means, but some good design considerations, better-than-average variety, and always-enjoyable Mario thematics put Mario Party: Island Tour a few notches above your average video game bash-in-a-box." It rated the game 7 out of 10.

Nintendo Life said that winning minigames is "inconsequential ... in the grand scheme of things". It called the game's visuals "satisfactory, getting the job done without doing anything to wow." It finally noted, "The Mario Party series isn't changing much, and when it does, it doesn't seem to be for the better. The pieces of Island Tour that work the best are the ones sticking to the form established early in the series — fun, accessible mini-games that don't over-complicate things. It's the game boards that need better ideas, and the "less is more" approach would suit future instalments better. The focus on luck, swapping places at random, and — specific to this instalment — the short length all conspire to hamper what could easily have been a much more enjoyable experience. There's still a ton of rowdy multiplayer fun to be had, but it's unfortunate that a whole portion of the game is so hit-or-miss."

Mario Party: Star Rush (2016)

Mario Party: Star Rush was the second Mario Party game for the Nintendo 3DS. Released in 2016 and 2017, the game was the first Mario Party game on a handheld console to be compatible with amiibo figures. The game features Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, Toad, Toadette, Rosalina, Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong as playable characters. Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, Red Toad, and Green Toad are also playable in the "Toad Scramble" mode, the standard game mode of Star Rush. The Additionally, Bowser, Bowser Jr., and Boo can be played as by tapping their amiibo figures in the "Mario Shuffle" mode. The only character that is not available in the "Mario Shuffle" mode is Toadette. Mario Party: Star Rush has a total of 53 minigames.

In the game's main mode, Toad Scramble, up to four players start out with a Toad, where their colour corresponds to each player. The goal of the mode is to amass the most stars; players can retrieve stars by placing first in the boss minigames. Players can battle bosses by landing on the space in front of them on the board, and every time a boss minigame is completed, a new boss appears on the board at a different spot. Up to five bosses may appear on a board.

In the Mario Shuffle mode, two players race across a linear, one-way board to a goal as amiibo figures. The red team's goal is to reach the very right of the board, while the blue team's goal is to reach the left side.

Nintendo Life noted that Star Rushs modes and minigames are "decent", noting, "There are some enjoyable highlights, some decent alternatives and one or two outright duds; overall the positive inclusions outweigh the weak points." It mentioned that there are a limited number of minigames in the standard mode, Toad Scramble, but noted, "they're some of the stronger examples in the game and the heat of the battle is rather addictive." It also noted that Balloon Bash is "the best mode for playing the broadest variety of minigames." It did, however, explain that the Mario Shuffle mode "feels like an odd misstep" but praised the Boo's Block Party mode. Finally, it explained, "Mario Party: Star Rush may not excel in many ways, but it addresses some complaints from past entries and delivers some harmless entertainment."

Compilation games

Mario Party: The Top 100 (2017)

Mario Party: The Top 100 was the third Mario Party game for the Nintendo 3DS, released in 2017. Unlike traditional Mario Party games, The Top 100 is a compilation of 100 remade minigames originally featured in the previous ten home console games in the series. It features Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, and Rosalina as playable characters. The Top 100 has the most minigames out of all games in the Mario Party series.

The main game mode of The Top 100 is 100 Minigames, where players can play all 100 minigames individually, outside of a board. Its second mode, Minigame Island, is a single-player mode, where Toad is the host. After the player selects their character, they can choose a computer-controlled teammate for two-versus-two minigames. The game's third mode is Minigame Match, which serves as the game's only board game mode. It plays similarly to Balloon Bash from the previous instalment, Star Rush. It is a multiplayer mode where players travel around a small board and roll a Dice Block that determines their movement on the board. In this mode, players need to pop "Star Balloons" across the board; collecting stars is vital to winning the game. The Top 100s next game mode, Championship Battles, is one hosted by Toadette and has players battling other players in random minigames from a "minigame pack", a concept first introduced in Mario Party 4. Whichever player receives the best of three or five rounds wins the mode. The Top 100s final mode, Decathlon, has players play either five or ten minigames against other players. The player earns points depending on how well they played the minigame, rather than whether they won, and the score in the minigame converts to points to the overall score in the mode.

At the beginning of its review, Nintendo Life said, "Just because a game has a great concept, doesn't mean the end product will be the same." It explained that The Top 100 is "an incredible idea on paper" and cited that it is a "joy" to see the 100 classic minigames return but explained, "the rest of the package nevertheless delivers a lacklustre experience." It called it a "blast" to play the 100 returning minigames but criticized the small amount of content and the low replay value. It noted that the game accomplished remastering 100 classic minigames "with great results" and called the initial time spent playing the game "an awesome walk through nostalgia lane" but criticized the rest of the game as "a rushed project" and noted that it "fails to live up to its full potential." Similarly, Polygon explained that The Top 100 "goes hard on the minigames and light on everything else". It criticized the Minigame Island mode for feeling like "a random, obligatory grind". It noted that The Top 100 "does a very good thing by giving us tons of minigames to play" but criticized the structure board game aspect of the game.

Mario Party Superstars (2021)

On June 15, 2021, Nintendo announced Mario Party Superstars for the Nintendo Switch. It is a compilation of 100 classic mini-games and five game boards stretching all the way back to the first Mario Party on Nintendo 64, all remade with HD graphics. It includes full online compatibility for playing with both friends and strangers. The game was released on October 29, 2021.

Arcade games

In addition to the home console games, six arcade games were also developed, and released exclusively in Japan. They typically retain the core mechanics of Mario Party, such as moving around a board and playing minigames, but add arcade specific features such as a coin pusher or claw device.

Other games

Mario Party-e (2003)

Mario Party-e is a card game that makes optional use of the Nintendo e-Reader and was released on February 18, 2003. Developed by indieszero, It is the only Mario Party game for the Nintendo e-Reader. Many of these cards contain "dot-codes" that, when scanned into the e-Reader, allow players to play minigames similar to those found in the regular Mario Party series. The Mario Party-e set contains a Play Mat, an instruction book and a pre-constructed deck consisting of sixty-four cards. An extra card was included as a promotion in an issue of GamePro. Retrospectively, it is widely considered to be one of the worst Mario Party games by critics, with both Digital Trends and TheGamer listing it at the bottom of their rankings. TheGamer called it "An Interesting Tech Experiment, But Nothing More" and "definitely the worst Mario Party game for those looking to have a proper fun time.", while Digital Trends questioned if "Is a Mario Party game really bad if almost no one is around to play it? The answer is yes. Mario Party-e is probably a game most people never have, and never would without this list, hear about." and lambasted the game for being "more of a traditional game than a videogame" and boiling down to "playing a card game in real life and occasionally picking up your GBA to play a minigame using a card", concluding that "At this point, they might as well have just made an actual board game".

Reception

Aggregate reviews

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: centre;"

!Game

!Platform

!MC

!GR

!OC

| colspan="5" style="text-align: center;" | Home Consoles

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party

| rowspan="3" | Nintendo 64

| 79/100

| 78%

| —

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party 2

| 76/100

| 76%

| —

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party 3

| 74/100

| 74%

| —

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party 4

| rowspan="4" | GameCube

| 70/100

| 73%

| —

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party 5

| 69/100

| 71%

| —

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party 6

| 71/100

| 73%

| —

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party 7

| 64/100

| 65%

| —

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party 8

| rowspan="2" | Wii

| 62/100

| 63%

| —

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party 9

| 74/100

| 75%

| —

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party 10

| Wii U

| 67/100

| 64%

| 16% recommend

| style="text-align: left;" | Super Mario Party

| rowspan="3" | Nintendo Switch

| 76/100

| 74%

| 60% recommend

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party Superstars

| 80/100

| —

| 76% recommend

| style="text-align: left;" | Super Mario Party Jamboree

| 82/100

| —

| 89% recommend

| colspan="5" style="text-align: center;" | Handheld Consoles

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party Advance

| Game Boy Advance

| 54/100

| 57%

| —

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party DS

| Nintendo DS

| 72/100

| 72%

| —

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party: Island Tour

| rowspan="3" | Nintendo 3DS

| 57/100

| 59%

| 3% recommend

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party: Star Rush

| 68/100

| 65%

| 18% recommend

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party: The Top 100

| 59/100

| 53%

| 3% recommend

Sales

The Mario Party sub-series have generally performed well in sales. Super Mario Party, released in 2018, is the series' best-selling game with 21.16 million units sold, and Mario Party DS, released in 2007, is the best-selling portable entry.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: centre;"

!Game (Year)

!Platform

!Units sold<br>

| style="text-align: left;" | Super Mario Party (2018)

| rowspan="2" | Nintendo Switch

| 21.16

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party 8 (2007)

| Wii

| 8.85

| style="text-align: left;" | Mario Party 5 (2003)

| rowspan="2" |GameCube

| 2.17 Some wore away the stick because it was not very durable. The analogue stick rotation has no longer been used since Mario Party 2. The exceptions are the mini-game in Mario Party 5 in which the player only needs to rotate it once and the mini-game in Mario Party 3 in which players throw Bowser in a manner similar to Super Mario 64 and do not need to use the palm of their hand to move the analogue stick. Mario Party: Island Tour resumed using these types of minigames because players can spin the Nintendo 3DS' analogue stick safely. In Mario Party Superstars, since the game utilizes analog sticks again, a disclaimer is placed on the rules screen for the minigames Tug o' War and Cast Aways warning players to not use their palms to turn the stick to avoid hand injury and stick damage. A similar warning appears for the Nintendo Switch Online version of Mario Party when starting the game.

In July 2007, Mario Party 8 for Nintendo's Wii home console was withdrawn from stores in the United Kingdom shortly after its release date. This was allegedly caused by Kamek using the word "spastic." Complaints were raised from consumers because the term is used to refer to an intellectually disabled person and is considered highly offensive in the United Kingdom. In August 2007, Nintendo re-released the game, replacing "spastic" with the word "erratic".