Mini Star

Mini Stars are small, white stars, introduced in Mario Party 9. They originate from outer space, and are similar to Coins from the first eight Mario Party games, as players will need to collect these items while advancing on the stages. When collected, they add to the current player's Mini Star total. The dark counterpart are the Mini Ztars, which deducts the total of Mini Stars collected.

Mario Party 9
In the solo mode of Mario Party 9, it is revealed that Bowser and Bowser Jr. have used a vacuum-like machine to suck all the Mini Stars from outer space, to 'put them into good use'. Therefore, Mario and the gang go to rescue the Mini Stars.

When a minigame ends, certain amounts of Mini Stars are awarded to players in different places. After boss battles, 'Captain Bonuses' are also given to the captain of the current turn. Mini Stars can also be obtained by landing on Mini Star Spaces, commonly found whenever the player lands on a Lucky Space. Captain Events also revolve around the players gaining Mini Stars in the form of special, board-specific events. The most common way to obtain Mini Stars, however, is to simply run into them on the board. On the board, they can be collected in groups of either three, five, or ten.

At the end of each board, Bonus Mini Stars are given to each player. Each of the Bonus Mini Stars give the players 5 Mini Stars.

The entire category of Bonus Mini Stars can be found here.

All Mini Stars that the player collects will be converted into party points when Party Mode is finished. However, if any Mini Stars are used as a handicap, the handicap amount will be deducted from the party point total. Likewise, Mini Stars that are collected in Solo Mode will be converted into party points too, but only after the player completes Bowser Station. Also, if a player finishes a board with less than 10 Mini Stars, then 10 Party Points are awarded regardless and is independent for each player, but only in the Party Mode.

Mini Stars do not appear in the secret stage, DK's Jungle Ruins. Instead, they are replaced by Bananas. The same applies for Mini Ztars, which are replaced by Z-Bananas.

Mario Party: Island Tour
Mini Stars make a return in Mario Party: Island Tour, along with Mini Ztars. They have the same role as in Mario Party 9. They only appear on Star-Crossed Skyway board and players have to collect the most to become the superstar of the board. They can be obtained by passing through Star Stages and winning minigames.

Mario Party 10
Mini Stars reappear in Mario Party 10, but only in the Mario Party mode. The Mini Stars serve the same purpose as they did in Mario Party 9. Like Mario Party 9, if an assistance is used (5, 10 or 20 Mini Stars), these don't count towards the Party Point total, although the starting value counts towards the total. Unlike Mario Party 9 though, the Party Point system is dependent and there is no compensation bonus in multiplayer if only one player ends with less than 10 Mini Stars, though 10 Party Points is the minimum amount for a board playthrough.