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 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
Mario Party is a series of virtual board games in which players compete in a combination of turn-based board game action and 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. The objective is to collect the most stars (and secondarily coins) by the game's end. Stars are typically purchased, won through events, or stolen from other players. 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, while Mario Party 7 features a "Bowser Time" mechanic in which Bowser triggers major disruptions every five turns. The boards of Mario Party: Island Tour feature specific win conditions, such as being the first to reach the end or collecting the most items. In Mario Party 9 and 10, the four players move in a shared vehicle along a linear path.
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 button-mashing or joystick-twirling to more skill-based challenges. Mario Party 8 features minigames using motion controls. The winners of the minigame receive coins, while the losers either get nothing or pay out. The amount of minigames in a given game range from 56 in Mario Party to 112 in Super Mario Party Jamboree. The games often feature dedicated modes for the minigames, allowing them to be played without the board game context.
The gameplay modes of Mario Party include a standard free-for-all game and a single-player campaign against computer-controlled opponents. 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 modes in the GameCube titles include a card-based variant without minigames, beach volleyball and ice hockey games, and microphone-based challenges. Mario Party 10 features "Bowser Party", a 1v4 mode in which a fifth player controls Bowser with the Wii U GamePad and pursues the other four players, challenging them in minigames if he catches up.
Games
1998–2000: Nintendo 64 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. In addition to the standard Party Mode, the game also features a single-player mode called Mini-Game Island, where the player's goal is to navigate an island and beat all 50 minigames as supplied. The player starts with four lives and loses a life every time they fail at a minigame. Winning a minigame gives the player coins, and collecting 100 coins grants the player one additional life. Mario Party also features Rumble Pak support, which lets players know when their turn has started. Upon completing Mini-Game Island, a Bumper Ball Maze is awarded, a single-player minigame playable in the Mini-Game House. The player can unlock two additional Bumper Ball Mazes by completing all 50 minigames in Mini-Game Island and, respectively, setting new time records in the first two Bumper Ball Mazes.
Mario Party 2 is the sequel to Mario Party and was released in 1999 and 2000 for the Nintendo 64. While Mario Party 2 is similar to the original game, it introduced a variety of new gameplay elements, such as collectible items that players can buy from item shops and three new minigame types: "Battle", "Item", and "Duel". Toad returns as the host in Mario Party 2. The game also has 15 more minigames than the original game, with a total of 65 minigames (or 88 if one counts the different courses in some of the minigames). Mario Party 2 features the same characters as the original game with no additions; however, each character dresses according to the theme of the board. Mario Party 2 is the only Mario Party game where this occurs. Mario Party 2 does not reuse any of the original game's boards but does have references to them and reuses some of their gimmicks in the new boards. Mario Party 2 features a mode called Mini-Game Land, where players can buy minigames that the player can play freely from a tree character called Woody.
Mario Party 3 was released in 2000 and 2001 for the Nintendo 64. It features the same cast of playable characters as the previous two games with the addition of Princess Daisy and Waluigi. The most notable difference in this game compared to the previous two games in the series is that each player can hold up to three items instead of only one. It also has 71 minigames, compared to Mario Party 2s 65. Mario Party 3s story revolves around a new character called the Millennium Star, who replaces Toad as the host. Like Mario Party 2, the game features all new boards, with some boards referencing the boards of the previous game and reusing their gimmicks. Mario Party 3 is also the first game in the series to feature a single-player story campaign. The game's story mode features "battle royal" boards and "duel" boards, where players fight one another for items called "Star Stamps".
2002–2007: GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Wii, and Nintendo DS 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. This game was the last game to feature Donkey Kong as a playable character up until Mario Party 10 for the Wii U. Instead of the Millennium Star, Mario Party 4 features multiple hosts, including Toad and a Koopa Troopa. The game also featured 60 new minigames. Mario Party 4 is the first Mario Party game to include side-collectibles, which are in the form of presents. It also introduces the ability for players to create their own custom minigame packs. Elements introduced in the previous game also return, such as the ability for players to team up in Party Mode and the ability to hold up to three items at a time. Mario Party 4 is also the first game in the series to feature boards fully rendered in 3D, although the navigational board space layout remained 2D until Mario Party 5.
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.
Mario Party 5 was released in 2003 for the GameCube. It features the same playable character roster as the previous two instalments with the exclusion of Donkey Kong and addition of Toad, Boo, and Koopa Kid. Rather than Mario Party 4s large number of hosts, Mario Party 5 features the Star Spirits, known as the Star Guards in this game, who first appeared in the 2000 Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64. The game also features 78 new minigames. One of the most major changes that Mario Party 5 made to the series was replacing collectible items with "capsules" (called "orbs" in later games), which players receive from a capsule machine, a talking robot vending machine that gives the player passing it a random capsule at no charge of coins, on the board. In addition to giving the player who uses it an advantage over the other players, capsules can also allow the player to set up traps for other players by throwing them at a space in front of them. 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. Mario Party 5 also introduces a new mode, Super Duel Mode. This mode is a one-versus-one battle mode where two players face off against each other using custom-assembled vehicles (called "machines" in-game). In this mode, players buy machine parts using points—awarded by playing minigames in either Party Mode or Minigame Mode—and build battle machines to use in different tournaments. There are a total of 44 different parts that can be used to customize a vehicle. To unlock all the parts, the player must play all the tournaments and beat certain opponents.