List of references in tabletop games

From the Super Mario Wiki, the Mario encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search

The following is an alphabetical list of Super Mario-related sightings and references in tabletop games, including role-playing games, board games, and card games.

Boss Monster[edit]

The Limited Edition box sleeve of Boss Monster 2: The Next Level, which is a parody of the box art for Super Mario Bros. 2
The box sleeve for the Limited Edition version of Boss Monster 2: The Next Level. It depicts Porkus in place of Mario.

The character King Croak, featured in the game Boss Monster and its various sequels and spin offs, is a large reptile with a crown, cape, and spiked collars on his legs. He is rather reminiscent of Bowser, but elements of the design resemble other antagonistic reptiles in the Super Mario franchise, such as Wart and King K. Rool. King Croak is noted as being a good father to his son Kid Croak,[1] similarly to Bowser's relationship with Bowser Jr.. The character Killa, who first appears in Boss Monster 2: The Next Level, is a King Kong-esque gorilla. However, he is brown and wears tattered red fabric, so there is a resemblance to Donkey Kong.

The Kickstarter campaign for Boss Monster called the limited availability pledge levels that sold out "THE LOST LEVELS", after Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.[2]

The DriveThruCards exclusive mini-pack Boss Monster The Lost Levels is also named after Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.[3] It contains the card Room 1-1, which is based on World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. Its artwork includes objects based on ? Blocks and an object similar to a Warp Pipe.

The Limited Edition version of Boss Monster 2: The Next Level has a box sleeve with art based on the box art of Super Mario Bros. 2.[4]

Boss Monster 2: The Next Level contains the card The Brothers, which depicts a red and blue knight with an axe and a green and blue mage behind them.[5] These characters are based on Mario and Luigi, respectively.

  • Room 1-1, a reference to World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros.

    Room 1-1, a reference to World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros.

  • The Brothers, references to Mario and Luigi

    The Brothers, references to Mario and Luigi

  • King Croak's design across three games: Boss Monster (top left), Boss Monster: Rise of the Minibosses (top right), and Overboss: a Boss Monster Adventure (bottom)

    King Croak's design across three games: Boss Monster (top left), Boss Monster: Rise of the Minibosses (top right), and Overboss: a Boss Monster Adventure (bottom)

Chemicards[edit]

The game's purpose is to combine every official UNO version's game mechanics into one game. This includes game mechanics that were introduced in Nintendo UNO, UNO Mario Kart, and UNO Super Mario.

Magic: The Gathering[edit]

The card Spikeshell Harrier, a reference to the Spiny Shell, from Magic: the Gathering set Aetherdrift
Spikeshell Harrier, a creature similar to the Spiny Shell

Magic: The Gathering has two cards that reference the Mario Kart series. The first is the Creature card Spikeshell Harrier, released in the 2025 set Aetherdrift. It depicts a robotic turtle within a spiky blue shell, rolling on a single wheel down a track in a racing event. Its flavor text indicates it locks onto a target to collide with them. The card references the Spiny Shell. The resemblance has been noted by several online publications.[6] Lead designer of the game Mark Rosewater received a question about Spikeshell Harrier being a good way to reference other properties.[7] The second is the Artifact card Item Crate, released at the Unknown Event for MagicCon Chicago 2025. The card can be sacrificed to create a random one of four tokens, which are named Banana, Shell, Star, and Best Shell. Each of these tokens can be sacrificed for its own effect. The card references Item Boxes, and the tokens are references to Banana, Koopa Shell items in the Mario Kart series such as Green Shell and Red Shell, Super Star, and Spiny Shell. The Banana token's effect is not an adaption of the Mario Kart item, instead being a preexisting design used on older cards.

Millennium Blades[edit]

One of the sets of the 2016 game Millennium Blades is named Super Plumber Bros. It is themed after the Super Mario franchise, with its logo being pixel art with pipe iconography and cards depicting parodies of Super Mario characters such as Marvio and Broigi.[8] A keyword in the set is Thwomp!, which is named after the enemy Thwomp.[9] A sentence of the description in the rulebook for the set Princess' Blade reads "Your princess is in this castle!", which is based on a line from Mushroom Retainers in Super Mario Bros.[10] The 2021 expansion Millennium Blades: Collusion and 2025 expansion Millennium Blades: Draw Power include the princess themed set Princess Power. Princess Power has the card Princess Princess, [11] which has a design similar to Princess Peach.

  • Marvio, a Mario parody from the Super Plumber Bros. set. It also features the Thwomp! keyword.

    Marvio, a Mario parody from the Super Plumber Bros. set. It also features the Thwomp! keyword.

  • Broigi, a Luigi parody from the Super Plumber Bros. set. It also features the Thwomp! keyword.

    Broigi, a Luigi parody from the Super Plumber Bros. set. It also features the Thwomp! keyword.

  • Princess Princess, a Princess Peach parody from the Princess Power set.

    Princess Princess, a Princess Peach parody from the Princess Power set.

Pokémon Trading Card Game[edit]

The Pokémon Trading Card Game has two Pokémon cards named whose names can be translated to Mario Pikachu and Luigi Pikachu, released as promo cards during the XY Series as part of the "Mario Pikachu" promotion which also included plushies. They depict Pikachu dressed up as the corresponding character. The attacks printed on the cards also reference abilities and items from the Super Mario series.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "But [King Croak]'s also got a softer side, and is a great dad to his son, Kid Croak."url=https://www.makeship.com/products/king-croak-plush – 2023. King Croak Plush. Makeship. Retrieved 15 Dec. 2025.
  2. ^ "The following levels are no longer available. They were awesome, but they went fast. We call them... THE LOST LEVELS." – Brotherwise Games (2012). Boss Monster: the Dungeon-Building Card Game. Kickstarter. Retrieved 11 Dec. 2025.
  3. ^ Brotherwise Games (1 Feb. 2016). Boss Monster The Lost Levels. DriveThruCards. Retrieved 11 Dec. 2025.
  4. ^ Brotherwise Games (13 Apr. 2015). Boss Monster: The Next Level. Kickstarter. Retrieved 10 Dec. 2025.
  5. ^ Brotherwise Games (14 Apr. 2015). Back ...and Badder Than Ever!. Kickstarter. Retrieved 10 Dec. 2025.
  6. ^ Charlie Hall (January 27, 2025). MTG Aetherdrift is about racing carts, huh? Then you’ll need this blue shell. Polygon. Retrieved February 14th, 2025.
  7. ^ Mark Rosewater (January 27, 2025). Blogatog. Tumblr. Retrieved February 14th, 2025.
  8. ^ Cardboard Stacker (Jan 20, 2018). Super Plumber Bros - Set of the Week 29 - World of Millennium Blades. Retrieved February 14th, 2025.
  9. ^ Millennium Blades Complete Game Rules (PDF). Level 99 Games (English). Retrieved February 14th, 2025.
  10. ^ Millennium Blades Complete Game Rules (PDF). Level 99 Games (English). Retrieved February 14th, 2025.
  11. ^ Ithry (23 Dec. 2019). Monday Collusion Content - Princess Power. Kickstarter. Retrieved 9 Dec. 2025.
[Edit]
Super Mario in culture
References By external sources Advertisements • Film • Internet • Music • Publications • Real life • Tabletop games • Television (animated · live-action) • Theater • Video games (Nintendo · third-party (A–M · N–Z) · pre-release and unused content)
Within Super Mario media References in the Super Mario franchise • References in The Super Mario Bros. Movie • References in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Other lists Advertisements (home consoles · handhelds · miscellaneous) • Controversies • Rumors and urban legends • Unofficial media acknowledged by Nintendo
Retrieved from "https://www.mariowiki.com/index.php?title=List_of_references_in_tabletop_games&oldid=5137015"