Crane Game (minigame)

Crane Game is a 1-vs-3 minigame in the games Mario Party and Mario Party 2. The game involves three players lying around as stuffed dolls while another player, being hoisted by a crane, tries to pick them up and drop them in a pipe.

Characters can try to wiggle free if grabbed by repeatedly tapping A. The player attached to the crane can hold on to the character it has grabbed by tapping A.

In the original Mario Party, the player on the crane had to pick one of the other characters only. If he is dropped to the ground before reaching the pipe, the solo player loses. In Mario Party 2, the rules of the game underwent a change, as the player on the crane must capture all three opponents. To make this task easier, time bonuses (stopwatches with "+15", "+20" or "+30" imprinted) were introduced. When the player drops one of them into the pipe, more time will be added to the game timer according to what the watch shows.

In the Mini-Game Coaster, the human player always plays against the team of three.