Dice Block

"First, let's decide the turn order. Press on the Wii Remote to hit the Dice Block."

- Yellow Toad

A Dice Block is a block in the Mario Party series that determines how many spaces a character must move. The player must "hit" a Dice Block and advance the number of spaces it shows. A Dice Block rolls from the numbers 1–10 (1–6 from Mario Party 9 up until Super Mario Party), or 1–5 when a Poison Mushroom or Slowgo Candy is active. In addition to moving the players, the blocks are also used to determine the turn order of the game before it starts: Each player hits a Dice Block, and whoever rolls the highest number goes first, while the player who rolls the lowest number goes last. 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 to break the tie. Since Mario Party 4, though, the tiebreaker is done only for the first-place players. If the score is tied at the end of the minigame in Mario Party: Island Tour and Mario Party 10, then a Dice Block tiebreaker determines the final results for that minigame.

There is also a volleyball version of the block in the Mario Party 5 minigame Beach Volleyball, where teams can get up to six points if the ball lands on the sand.

Since Mario Party 9 and up until Super Mario Party, the normal Dice Block no longer goes up to ten and instead goes up to only six. In Mario Party 9, however, there is a Special Dice Block, which is the 1-10 Dice Block resembling a pentagonal bipyramid that allows for 1–10 movement, and in Mario Party: Island Tour, there are Bonus Dice Blocks that can be won by placing first, second, or third in a minigame for Bonus Dice Blocks.

The Dice Block from Mario Party 8 appears as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, granting stronger arm attacks, while Mario's Dice Block from Super Mario Party appears as a support spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, allowing the user to escape grabs more easily. The spirit was originally exclusive to the "Oh Yeah! Mario Time!" spirit event that ran from December 27, 2018, to January 1, 2019, but was later made obtainable from the Spirit Board and Vault Shop following the version 2.0.0 update released on January 30, 2019.

Use
To hit a Dice Block, the player needs to press in most installments. In Mario Party 8, is swung upwards. In Mario Party DS, can also be used to tap the block. In Mario Party: Island Tour, is used to throw the block into the game screen. In Mario Party 6 and Mario Party 7, the player can also use the Mic to hit the block.

Normally whenever a character hits a Dice Block, they jump up and punch it with their right hand. Some characters, such as Waluigi and Donkey Kong, do not jump when they hit the Dice Block, while other characters, such as Toad and Toadette (as well as Yoshi in the earlier titles), jump and hit it with their heads.

Types of Dice Blocks
There are also other types of Dice Blocks in the Mario Party series, as shown below:
 * Normal Dice Block: A Dice Block given at the start of the game that has 1–10 (1–6 from Mario Party 9 up until Super Mario Party).
 * Plus Block: A blue Dice Block that allows the player to gain coins depending on the number the die shows once rolled (1–10).
 * Minus Block: A red die that deducts the number rolled from the player's coins (1–10).
 * Slow Block: An orange die that allows the player to roll only a 1, 2, or 3.
 * Speed Block: A green die that allows the player to roll only an 8, 9, or 10.
 * Hidden Block: This brown or silver die may appear on the space the player lands on after taking their turn, and it gives the player the opportunity to gain coins, an item, a Star, or a Ztar.
 * 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 this in Mario Party DS, they teleport to a random space before rolling the normal Dice Block.
 * Event Block: In Mario Party, Boo, Koopa Troopa, or Bowser appears from this block. Boo steals coins and Stars from another player, Koopa Troopa gives the player 20 coins, and Bowser takes away the same number of coins that Koopa Troopa gives to the player.
 * Cursed Block: After a player uses a Cursed Mushroom, this die turns purple, making the player use only the numbers 1, 2, and 3 (in Mario Party 5s Card Party and Mario Party 6s Solo Mode) or 1–5. When used as a regular item, this die is powerful when used against others and also useful to avoid spaces or areas.
 * Reverse Block: In Mario Party 3, after a player uses 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 (in Mario Party 8, it is a Slowgo Candy), players can roll any number they want (in Mario Party 8, it shows only the numbers 1–5), but they need to jump up one number before the one they want because they jump slowly. The Sluggish Block reappears in Mario Party 9 and is golden. It is even slower than in the other games, so the player does not have to jump one number before.
 * Red Block: After using a Mushroom, Mushroom Orb, Twice Candy, or Double Dice Set, the player gets to roll twice, giving them up to 20 spaces to move.
 * Golden Yellow Block: After using a Golden Mushroom, Super 'Shroom Orb, Thrice Candy, or Triple Dice Set, the player can roll three times, giving them up to 30 spaces to move.
 * Green Block: After the player uses a Slowgo Candy in Mario Party 8, the block slows down and the player hits a slower Dice Block with the numbers 1–5. It reappears in Mario Party 9, but due to the new limits of the regular Dice Block, the limits of this special Dice Block are lowered to the range of 1-2-3 (known as the 1-2-3 Dice Block). In Mario Party Advance, if the player lands on a Dice Space, they can roll again with a green-colored Dice Block instead of a blue one as it normally is (rolling in Mario Party Advance costs one Mushroom).
 * Mega Block: If a player uses 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 uses 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 black die advances the player to a higher floor in the minigame Bowser's Lovely Lift! in Mario Party 7.
 * Dice Barrel: When a DK Bonus occurs in Mario Party 6, Donkey Kong lets 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 and Mario Party 10 allows the player to move 1–3 spaces.
 * 4-5-6 Dice Block: This special Dice Block from Mario Party 9 and Mario Party 10 guarantees movement within the range of 4–6.
 * 0-1 Dice Block: This special Dice Block from Mario Party 9 and Mario Party 10 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 six-sided die.
 * 1-2-3 Slow Dice Block: This special Dice Block from Mario Party 10 allows the player to choose to move 1–3 spaces (available only in the Bowser Party mode).
 * Slow Dice Block: This special Dice Block from Mario Party 9 and Mario Party 10 allows the player to choose to move 1–6 spaces.
 * Gold Dice Block: This Bonus Dice Block from Mario Party: Island Tour allows the player to roll between two and twelve spaces. It is given to the player who finishes a minigame for Bonus Dice Blocks in first place, and it rolls 4–9 in Mario Party: Star Rush.
 * Silver Dice Block: This Bonus Dice Block from Mario Party: Island Tour allows the player to roll between two and nine spaces. It is given to the player who finishes a minigame for Bonus Dice Blocks in second place, and it rolls 3–8 in Mario Party: Star Rush.
 * Bronze Dice Block: This Bonus Dice Block from Mario Party: Island Tour allows the player to roll between two and eight spaces. It is given to the player who finishes a minigame for Bonus Dice Blocks in third place, and it rolls 2–7 in Mario Party: Star Rush.
 * Custom Dice Block: This Dice Block from Mario Party: Island Tour allows the player to roll any number of their choice.
 * Bowser Dice Block: This Dice Block allows the players to remain where they are instead of getting burned to move to other spaces as long as their roll is doubled. It appears only in Bowser's Peculiar Peak. In Mario Party 10, this is used during Bowser Party. Bowser starts his turn with four blocks, and they can be used to catch up to the team.
 * Double Dice: Appearing in Mario Party DS, Mario Party 10, Mario Party: Star Rush, and Mario Party Superstars, this die allows the player to roll two Dice Blocks.
 * Triple Dice: Appearing in Mario Party DS and Mario Party Superstars, this die allows the player to roll three Dice Blocks.
 * Reverse Dice Block: Appearing in Mario Party 10, this Dice Block allows the player to move backward 1–6 spaces.
 * Coin Dice Block: Appearing in Mario Party 10, this Dice Block allows the player to get coins from 1–6. This is found only on the Wario Board.

Designs
In Mario Party games from the Hudson Soft era, all Dice Blocks are rolled similarly to Roulette Blocks with numbers from 1 to 10. From Mario Party 9 up until Super Mario Party, Dice Blocks are rolled similarly to regular dice, and normal ones have numbers from 1 to 6. Mario Party Superstars returns to the 1–10 numbered Dice Blocks, but it retains its standard dice look.
 * Mario Party: The Dice Block has a white and black squared pattern frame. The numbers are purple to blue.
 * Mario Party 2: The die has a silver color with white octagons around the numbers. The numbers have the same color as the first.
 * Mario Party 3: On the background on the die, the border is brown, and in the center of the die, the color is cream with brown stars. The numbers are blue and in a different font.
 * 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 die, there are four little stars, and there is a brown wooden background between a cream circular border. The numbers are orange.
 * Mario Party 6: The Dice Block has an orange border. On each face of the die, a cream octagon has a pattern of moons and stars. The numbers are green.
 * Mario Party Advance: The Dice Block is basically blue (green if landed on a Dice Space), and it has white numbers.
 * 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 die this time. It has a blue border, and it has a gray octagon background on the face. The numbers are blue.
 * Mario Party DS: The Dice Block has a blue border, a cream background inside the face, and an orange hexagon. The numbers are blue to green.
 * Mario Party 9: The Dice Block has a yellow border, and it has white octagons on each face. The numbers are yellow and in a different font.
 * Mario Party: Island Tour: The Dice Block has a cyan border and blue faces. The numbers are white like in Mario Party Advance. Additionally, some boards have slight changes to the block: On Rocket Road, each die is numbered 0–5 (with the number 5 being colored yellow and the 0 face colored red); on Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain, the dice are numbered 1–5 with the sixth side featuring a red face and a picture of a Banzai Bill that causes it to launch; and in Bowser's Peculiar Peak, there are red faces with spikes added.
 * Mario Party 10: The Dice Block is the same as in Mario Party 9, but the border is striped, and numbers are colored green instead of yellow.
 * Mario Party: Star Rush / Mario Party: The Top 100: The Dice Block is white and has a border that is colored after the player's color (red for Player 1, blue for Player 2, green for Player 3, and yellow for Player 4). The actual characters have a border matching their signature color (red for Mario, dark green for Luigi, etc.). The numbers are orange to red.
 * Super Mario Party: The Dice Block is white and has a cyan border. The numbers are colored depending on the player's turn order (red for first, blue for second, green for third, and orange for fourth). The character-specific Dice Blocks have a border matching their signature color, similar to non-Toad Dice Blocks in Mario Party: Star Rush. Additionally, the Dice Blocks for Bowser's minions have a spiked trim.
 * Mario Party Superstars: The Dice Block's border has cyan and blue stripes, and it has yellow numbers. Like on Mario Party 9's Dice Blocks, each face has a white octagon.

Mario Party 9

 * Instruction manual: Dice Block numbered 1 through 6

Mario Party 10

 * Instruction manual: Has numbers from 1 to 6.

Trivia

 * In Mario Party 9, Mario Party 10, and Mario Party: Island Tour, the Dice Block rolls like dice in real life, but in the other Mario Party games, the block either breaks apart like Brick Blocks or disappears.
 * Shaking in Mario Party 9 and Mario Party 10 causes the Dice Block to grow larger and spin faster. This also applies to the amiibo Party mode but by holding down the amiibo.
 * In Mario Party games that are played based on the number of turns, the first turn of a game (hitting the Dice Block) along with the fifth-to-last turn (Last Five Turns Event) are the only two turns that begin with an event before the players can move.
 * In Mario Party DS, as with the Nintendo 64 installments, the number that shows up on the Dice Block is predetermined at the start of the current player's turn. However, the game can be forced to reselect the number should the player bring up the Dice Block and then reopen the item menu.
 * In Super Mario Party, the protagonist characters' Dice Blocks have smooth edges, while enemy characters' Dice Blocks have bumps on the edges.

Würfel Dado