Dice Block
- “Let's see who goes first! Smack the Dice Block! Punch with your Wii Remote!”
- —MC Ballyhoo, Mario Party 8
In the Mario Party series, the Dice Block determines how many spaces a character must move. The player must "hit" the Dice Block and advance as many spaces as the number it shows. The Dice Block rolls from the number 1-10 (1-6 in Mario Party 9), or 1-5 when a cursed mushroom or Slowgo Candy is active.
There is also a volleyball version of the block in Mario Party 5's version of Beach Volleyball where teams can get up to six points if the ball lands on the ground.
In addition to moving the players, the block is also used to determine the turn order of the game by getting the highest number. Dice Blocks also appear in various minigames with various functions.
At the end of the game, if there is a tie at any position, a Dice Block roll is used as a tiebreaker. Since Mario Party 7, they will now break ties for only first place players.
In Mario Party 9, the normal Dice Block no longer goes up to 10, and now only goes up to 6. However, there is a Special Dice, which is the 10-sided 1-10 Dice Block that allows for 1-10 movement.
Use
To use it on the player's turn, the player needs to press the Button in most installments except for Mario Party 8, which requires the player to use the
to swing upwards, and in Mario Party DS, where a
is used for the player to tap the block.
Types of Dice Block
There are also other types of Dice Blocks in the Mario Party series, as shown below:
- Plus Block: Allows the player to gain coins depending on the number the dice shows once rolled (1-10). It's a blue die.
- Minus Block: Deducts the number rolled from the player's coins (1-10). It's a red die.
- Slow Block: The player can only roll numbers from 1-3. It's a yellow die.
- Speed Block: The player can only roll numbers from 8-10. It's a green die.
- Hidden Block: This block may appear on the space the player lands on after taking their turn, and gives the player the opportunity to gain coins, an item, a Star, or a Ztar. A brown or silver die.
- Halfway Dice Block: This is a dice block that is numbered only 1-5. It is found in Mario Party DS only.
- Warp Dice Block: When the player uses it in Mario Party DS, then they will teleport to a random space before rolling the normal one.
- Event Block: In Mario Party, Boo, Koopa Troopa, or Bowser will appear from this block. Boo will steal coins and Stars, Koopa Troopa gives the player 20 coins, and Bowser takes away 20 coins.
- Cursed Block: After using a Cursed Mushroom, the die turns purple making the player only use the numbers 1-3 (in Mario Party 5 's Card Party and Mario Party 6 's Solo Mode) or 1-5 used as a regular item. Powerful when using against others and also useful to avoid spaces or areas.
- Reverse Block: In Mario Party 3, after using a Reverse Mushroom, this die makes the player go backwards.
- Sluggish Block: In Mario Party 6 and Mario Party 7, after using the Slow 'Shroom Orb, players can roll any number they want. In Mario Party 8, it is a Slowgo Candy. But you need to hit one number before the one you want. It re-appears in Mario Party 9 and is golden and also follows the fifth and sixth Mario Parties.
- Red Block: After using a Mushroom, Mushroom Orb, Twice Candy, or Double Dice Set, the player gets to roll twice, giving them up to twenty spaces to move.
- Golden Yellow Block: After using a Golden Mushroom, Super 'Shroom Orb, Thrice Candy, or Triple Dice Set, the player can roll thrice, giving them up to thirty spaces to move.
- Green Block: After using a Slowgo Candy in Mario Party 8, the block will slow down and the player hits a slower Dice Block with the numbers 1-5. It re-appears in Mario Party 9 but due to the new limits of the regular Dice Block, the limits of this special Dice Block is lowered to the range of 1-2-3.
- Mega Block: If a player used a Mega Mushroom or a Super Mega Mushroom in Mario Party 4, then the player can grow and squish anyone that stands in the way while rolling twice or thrice.
- Mini Block: If a player used a Mini Mushroom or a Super Mini Mushroom in Mario Party 4, then the player can shrink and walk through small pipes while rolling once or twice.
- Elevator Block: This block advances the player to a higher floor in the mini-game Bowser's Lovely Lift! in Mario Party 7. A black die.
- Dice Barrel: When a DK Bonus occurs in Mario Party 6, Donkey Kong will let the player get coins or a star with a hit of a barrel.
- Star Block: If this item is activated in Mario Party DS, it will add one, two, or three stars to the player's total.
- 1-2-3 Dice Block: This special Dice Block from Mario Party 9 allows the player to move 1-3 spaces.
- 4-5-6 Dice Block: This special Dice Block from Mario Party 9 guarantees movement within the range of 4-5-6.
- 0-1 Dice Block: This special Dice Block from Mario Party 9 guarantees movement within the range of 0-1.
- 1-10 Dice Block: This special Dice Block from Mario Party 9 looks drastically different from regular Dice Blocks, and instead looks like an actual 10-sided die. It allows the player to roll anywhere from 1-10. While Dice Blocks in most Mario Party games allow this, Mario Party 9 is an exception with the standard Dice Block being a typical 6-sided die.
Designs
- Mario Party: The dice block has a white and black squared pattern frame. The numbers are purple to blue.
- Mario Party 2: The dice has a silver color with white octagons around the numbers. The numbers are purple to blue like the first.
- Mario Party 3: On the background on the dice, the border is brown, and in the center of the dice, the color is creme with brown stars. The numbers are blue.
- Mario Party 4: The dice block has a lavender face and silver border. On each face, four Stars are shown. The numbers are green.
- Mario Party 5: The dice block has a violet face and lavender border. Around each face of the dice, there are four little stars, and there is a brown wooden background between a creme circular border. The numbers are yellow.
- Mario Party 6: The dice has an orange border. On each face of the dice, a creme octagon has a pattern of moons and stars. The numbers are green.
- Mario Party 7: The dice block has an orange border, and on each face, four stars are shown in a brown background. The numbers are green.
- Mario Party 8: The dice block is a round-cornered dice this time. It has a blue border and it has a gray octagon background on the face. The numbers are blue.
- Mario Party 9: The dice block has a yellow border, and it has white octagons on each face. The numbers are yellow.
- Mario Party DS: The dice block has a blue border, a creme background inside the face, and an orange hexagon. The numbers are blue to green.
- Mario Party Advance: The dice block is basically blue, and it has white numbers.
Gallery
- DS Diceblock.png
- Diceblock MP9.png
Names in Other Languages
Trivia
- The Dice Block appears as a Sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
- In the Rolling Gizmo Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy, there are two normal looking dice blocks that appear at the end that try to push the player off the edge.
- In Mario Party 9 the Dice Block falls like dice in real life, but in the first eight Mario Party games, the dice break apart.
- Shaking the
in Mario Party 9 causes the Dice Block to grow larger and spin faster.
- Shaking the