The Game of Life: Super Mario Edition

The Game of Life: Super Mario Edition
Manufacturer	Hasbro
Publishers	Hasbro Tomy (Japanese version)
Release dates	Original version: July 7, 2021 2021 2021 2021 2021 2021 2021 2021 Premium Edition: 2022 2022
Languages	English Japanese Chinese (Traditional) French German Italian Korean Spanish
Age rating	Eight years and older
Number of players	2–4 players (original version) 2–5 players (Premium Edition)

The Game of Life: Super Mario Edition is a version of the board game The Game of Life themed to the Super Mario franchise. Released by Hasbro in 2021, the game has players move around a board, accumulating items and companions that they ultimately use to fight Bowser. The game is played with two to four players, and it offers four character pawns in the form of Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Yoshi. Coins replace the banknotes in the original game, a trait shared with Monopoly Gamer, Monopoly Gamer: Mario Kart, Monopoly: Super Mario Celebration!, and Monopoly: The Super Mario Bros. Movie Edition.

A Premium Edition was later released in 2022, featuring a character pawn of Toad exclusive to that edition.

Gameplay

The gameplay of The Game of Life: Super Mario Edition is reminiscent of that of the Mario Party series. Players spin the spinner and move around the board freely along branching paths, and players interact with various spaces that can be landed on.

Setup

To start playing the board game, the player first needs to insert the spinner into the gameboard. Next, they should split the Action, Minigame, Companion, and Item cards into separate decks and place them where all players can reach them. Each player then chooses a character and takes five coins and one Five Coin (worth five coins).

Turn order

On every turn, the player begins by spinning the spinner and moving the number of spaces that the needle lands on. On their first turn, the player can choose which direction they move their character; after choosing their desired direction, they must keep moving in that direction until they reach a split on the board or travel through a Warp Pipe. To keep track of the direction they are moving their character, they should point their character in that direction.

If the player reaches a Star space, they must stop moving, even if they have moves left. If the player reaches an orange space, they can either choose to stop moving or continue moving the number of spaces they spun. After moving the number of spaces indicated on the spinner (or reaching on a Star or orange space), they stop on that space and carry out the actions of the space. Afterwards, play passes to the player on their left.

Spaces

The game features the following spaces:

• Coin spaces, which give the player or take away a number of coins based on the number shown.
• Action spaces, which force the player to draw an Action card and follow its effects. They are similar to the yellow spaces in the original The Game of Life board game.
• Minigame spaces, which force the player to draw a Minigame card and compete with other players for coins. They are similar to the Spin to Win! spaces in the original The Game of Life board game.
• Item spaces, which allow the player to draw an Item card and keep it to be used later. This is an orange space, and the player can choose to stop on this space if they reach it during their move.
• Companion spaces, which allow the player the option to draw a Companion card, which grants passive bonuses. This is an orange space, and the player can choose to stop on this space if they reach it during their move.
• Pipe spaces, which allow the player the option to move their piece to the other Warp Pipe space of matching color. This is an orange space, and the player can choose to stop on this space if they reach it during their move.
• Star spaces, which allow the player to buy a star for 10 coins or receive 5 coins. They replace the red spaces in the original The Game of Life board game. If they reach a Star space during their move, they must stop on that space, even if they have moves left. If they choose to buy a star, they insert a star peg matching the space's color onto their character's base. The player can only have one star of each color at any time. There are six Star spaces on the board, one of each of the following colors: red, yellow, green, blue, purple, and black.

Cards

The Game of Life: Super Mario Edition comes with 60 cards, divided into 26 Action cards, 10 Minigame cards, 10 Companion cards, 10 Item cards, and 4 Reference cards. The four reference cards are identical, and act as reminders of important rules for each player.

Action cards

The player draws an Action card when they land on an Action space. Most Action cards require the player to immediately carry out the effects stated on the card when drawing one. After carrying out the card's effects, they return it to the bottom of the Action card deck.

Name and image	Description	Notes
? Block	Spin to collect a reward from the bank: Spin 1-4 - collect x1 Spin 5-8 - collect x6 Spin 9-10 - collect x1	Two copies are included.
Blooper	Spin 15 or higher to defeat this enemy. (Spin three times and add up your score.) If you win, spin again and move. (your turn ends where you landed.) If you lose, skip your next turn.
Bob-omb	Spin black to defeat this enemy. If you win, pay nothing. If you lose, pay x2 to the bank.
Boo	Spin black to defeat this enemy. If you win, collect x3 from the bank. If you lose, pay x2 to the bank.
Bullet Bill	Spin and move back that number of spaces. Your turn is then over.
Chain Chomp	Spin red to defeat this enemy. If you win, collect x2 from the bank. If you lose, pay x2 to the bank.
Coin Bust	Pay x3 to the bank
Coin Bust	Spin and pay that amount in coins to the bank.
Coin Spree	Spin and collect that amount in coins from the bank.	Two copies are included.
Goomba	Spin three times. Each time you spin black, collect x2 from the bank. Each time you spin red, Pay x2 to the bank.
Hammer Bro	Spin 8 or higher to defeat this enemy. (You can try up to three times.) If you win, collect x10 from the bank. If you lose, pay x3 to the bank.
Kamek	Spin 6 or higher to defeat this enemy. If you win, collect x6 from the bank. If you lose, pay x3 to the bank.
Koopa Troopa	Spin twice. If your second spin is higher, collect that amount in coins from the bank. If your second spin is lower, pay that amount in coins to the bank.
Lakitu	Move to the Yellow Star space. Follow the rules of that space.
Piranha Plant	Spin three times. Each time you spin black, pay nothing. Each time you spin red, Pay x2 to the bank.
POW Block	Everyone but you pays x2 to the bank.
Steal	Keep this card until you're ready to use it. Take x1 from any player.
Steal	Take x1 from any player. If no one has a star, simply return this card to the bottom of the Action deck. Your turn is over.
Swap	Keep this card until you're ready to use it. Trade any one of your stars for another player's star. (If that player now has two of the same color star, they must discard one.)
Swap	Keep this card until you're ready to use it. Trade any one of your Companions for another player's Companion or trade it for the top card in the Companion deck.
Swap	Must play this card immediately. Trade any one of your Companions for another player's Companion or trade it for the top card in the Companion deck.
Thwomp	Return one of your companions to the bottom of the Companion deck. If you do not have any Companions, simply return this card to the bottom of the deck. Your turn is over.
Warp Zone	Move to any Pipe space. Your turn is then over.	Two copies are included.

Item cards

A player draws an Item card when they land on an Item space. These cards can played on any turn, though all except for the Red Shell and Super Star cards can only be played at the start of the player's turn. No Item cards may be used in the battle with Bowser. When playing an Item card, the player carries out the actions on the card before returning it to the bottom of the Item card deck. The player can only have one Item card at any time, though they can swap their Item card for another Item card when they land on an Item space.

Name and image	Description	Notes
Fire Flower	Steal x1 from any player. Must be played at the start of your turn, before you spin and move!
Green Shell	Subtract 3 from any opponent's spin. Must be played at the start of their turn, before they spin and move! May not be used when fighting Bowser!	Two copies are included.
Ice Flower	Steal x5 from any player. Must be played at the start of your turn, before you spin and move!
Nabbit	Steal one Companion from any player. Must be played at the start of your turn, before you spin and move!
Red Shell	Force any opponent to skip their turn. Must be played at the start of their turn, before they spin and move!
Super Leaf	Move to any unoccupied space. Must be played at the start of your turn, before you spin and move!
Super Mushroom	Add 5 to your spin. Must be played at the start of your turn, before you spin and move! May not be used when fighting Bowser!	Two copies are included.
Super Star	Cancel any action played against you. May be played at any time.

Companion cards

A player draws a Companion card when they land on a Companion space. These cards provide passive bonuses for the player who has them. Most Companion cards give the player a number of coins when someone spins the number indicated on the card, similar to the Stock cards in the original The Game of Life board game. A player can only a maximum of three Companion cards at any time. Companion cards remain with a player until the player chooses to swap a Companion card for another Companion card when landing on a Companion space while already having three Companion cards, a card is played against that Companion card, or the player draws a Thwomp card; in the latter case, the player must return one of their Companion cards to the bottom of the Companion card deck.

Name and image	Lucky Number	Description
Birdo	Lucky No. 2	Move to any unoccupied space–but only when YOU spin a 2.
Daisy	Lucky No. 3	Steal x2 from another player when anyone spins a 3.
Diddy Kong	Lucky No. 8	Steal x2 from another player when anyone spins an 8.
Donkey Kong	Lucky Break	You may move two more spaces (or two less) than the number you spin.
King Boo	Lucky No. 9	Move to any unoccupied space–but only when YOU spin a 9.
Rosalina	Lucky No. 10	Steal x2 from another player when anyone spins a 10.
Toad	Lucky No. 7	Collect x4 from the bank when any player spins a 7.
Toadette	Lucky No. 1	Collect x4 from the bank when any player spins a 1.
Waluigi	Lucky Break	Collect an extra x1 from the bank when YOU land on any coin space.
Wario	Lucky No. 4	Collect x4 from the bank when any player spins a 4.

Minigame cards

The player draws a Minigame card when they land on a Minigame space. These cards allow the player to compete with other players for coins, with the usually receiving coins or Stars from the bank. The player must immediately carry out the actions stated on a Minigame card when drawing one.

Name	Description	Notes
Rainbow Spin	Challenge all players. You choose how many coins to risk. (No coins? Then your turn ends.) Everyone else risks that many coins or as many as they can, even if they have 0! You pick a number on the spinner. Everyone else picks a different number. Spin until someone wins. Winner takes all!	Two copies are included.
Rock, Paper, Scissors	Challenge one player to rock, paper, scissors. Winner collects x5 from the bank.
Rock, Paper, Scissors	Challenge one player to rock, paper, scissors. Winner collects x1 of any color from the bank.
Spin Off	Challenge one player. Spin for the highest number. Best two out of three wins. Winner collects x1 of any color from the bank.
Spin Off	Challenge all players. Lowest spinner wins and can move to any unoccupied space.
Spin Off	Challenge all players. Highest spinner wins and collects x10 from the bank.
Spin Off	Challenge all players. Highest spinner wins and collects x1 of any color from the bank.
Thumb War	Challenge one player to a thumb war. Winner collects x3 from the bank.
Thumb War	Challenge one player to a thumb war. Winner collects x6 from the bank.

Running out of coins

If the player does not have enough coins to pay the bank or the player, the player should give the bank or player the number of coins they currently have. If the player does not have any coins, nothing happens.

End of game

If the player has at least two stars, they can access Bowser's Castle. Landing on this space engages the player in a battle with Bowser, which can be won by spinning a 12 or higher on the spinner, added with the number of stars the player has. If successful, the player wins the game, and other players are ranked by coin and star count. If they fail, they are sent back to the board's start space with all their coins lost. During the battle, no Item cards can be used.

Descriptions

• Official Super Mario Facebook page: The Game of Life: Super Mario Edition board game is available now! Journey through the Mushroom Kingdom in this spin on a classic family favorite. Play mini games, collect stars, and battle Bowser for the win!

Gallery

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  Premium Edition packaging

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  Japanese packaging

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  Traditional Chinese packaging

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  Traditional Chinese packaging of the Premium Edition

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  French packaging

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  German packaging

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  Italian packaging

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  Korean packaging

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  Spanish packaging

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Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	人生ゲーム⁺ スーパーマリオ Jinsei Gēmu Purasu: Sūpā Mario	The Game of Life Plus: Super Mario
Chinese (traditional)	生命之旅超級瑪利歐 Shēngmìng zhī Yóu: Chāojí Mǎlì'ōu Xiōngdì	The Game of Life: Super Mario Bros.
	生命之旅超級瑪利歐精裝版 Shēngmìng zhī Yóu: Chāojí Mǎlì'ōu Xiōngdì: Jīngzhuāngbǎn	The Game of Life: Super Mario Bros.: Premium Edition	Premium Edition
French	Destins Le jeu de la vie : édition Super Mario	The Game of Life: Super Mario edition
German	Das Spiel des Lebens: Super Mario	The Game of Life: Super Mario
Italian	Il Gioco della Vita edizione Super Mario	The Game of Life: Super Mario edition
Korean	슈퍼마리오 인생게임 Syupeo Mario Insaeng Geim	Super Mario: The Game of Life
Spanish	El Juego de Life: Super Mario	The Game of Life: Super Mario