Super Mario Party

Super Mario Party is a game in the Mario Party series, released for the Nintendo Switch on October 5, 2018. It is the eleventh home console installment in the series, as well as the first home console Mario Party game to not be a numbered installment since the original Mario Party game.

Described by Nintendo as a "complete relaunch" and "complete refresh" of the Mario Party series when revealed at E3 2018, the game "goes back to the four-player basics as you take turns and race across the board searching for Stars" as seen in the Mario Party installments prior to Mario Party 9, but also incorporates elements from the more contemporary Mario Party games, including the "ally" mechanics from Mario Party: Star Rush. Additionally, the game takes advantage of Nintendo Switch hardware for its minigames, such as flicking the Joy-Con as if it was a frying pan handle. Players can even link multiple Nintendo Switch consoles together for a single, larger alteration of the display for the game. The game is the first installment in the Mario Party franchise to incorporate online play, as minigames can be played online.

Story
Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, Rosalina, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Toad, and Toadette are standing around, with each of the playable characters claiming that they should be the "Super Star". Mario suggests that they have a party to determine who the "Super Star" will be, which the group agrees to, with Toad and Toadette being judges. Suddenly, Bowser appears with Bowser Jr., Goomba, Boo, Koopa Troopa, Hammer Bro, Shy Guy, Monty Mole, Pom Pom, and Dry Bones, and says that he or one of his troops could also be the "Super Star". To ensure that the judging is "fair" and "impartial", he summons Kamek to judge alongside Toad and Toadette. Kamek then creates a venue for the party.

When all the boards in Mario Party mode are completed, the Gem of Tenacity is awarded. Similarly, the Gem of Spirit is awarded when the Hard difficulty in Sound Stage is completed, the Gem of Courage is awarded upon sailing every branch in River Survival, when all the stages in Partner Party are cleared, the Gem of Love is awarded, and when every Challenge Road stage is cleared, the Gem of Passion is awarded. When all five gems are collected, they fuse together to create the victory podium, which the newly crowned "Super Star" stands on. The partygoers, even including Bowser, agree to get along, at least until the "next party".

Gameplay
Super Mario Party reverts to the traditional way of playing Mario Party, where four players take turns to navigate around a linear board dictated by how much they have rolled through the Dice Block, though a few boards are played in a nonlinear grid-like fashion similar to Toad Scramble from Mario Party: Star Rush. When a character lands on a space, they receive effects dependent on what the space is. They can also spend coins to buy items from Flutter which can help them or hurt other players. The game borrows the ally mechanics from Mario Party: Star Rush where players can increase their team of characters by collecting party members who spawn throughout the board or by earning them by landing on Ally Spaces or using a Buddy Phone; allies gained from there are decided by a roulette.

The overall goal of the game is to purchase the most Stars from Toadette, who serves as the host of the Star Space in this game. Stars cost 10 coins to buy, and after a player has purchased the Star, Toadette warps to another location of the board.

Super Mario Party introduces the choice of using character specific die prior to rolling, where players can either opt for the standard 1-6 Dice Block or the character's unique Dice Block, which carries pros and cons associated with it. If the player has partners, they hit a weaker variant of the Dice Block that adds up alongside the leader character's dice roll amount.

Minigames are played, selected by a roulette, at the end of every turn, and the type of minigame is determined by the spaces players landed on. If all players land on the same-colored space as each other, a Free-for-all minigame is played. If one player lands on a different, non-green space than the rest of the players, a 1-vs-3 minigame is played, where players who land on the same-colored space are placed in the same team as each other. If players land on an equal amount of non-green spaces, a 2-vs-2 minigame is played, teamed up depending on the color. If players land on a Green Space, the color is randomly determined to be either blue or red. Prior to playing the minigame, players view the rules and can practice; each minigame comes with its own rules and controls. Whichever player wins the minigame earns the most coins, while players who do not perform as well earn less coins.

The game can only be played with a single Joy-Con per player. The game is also compatible with local wireless play.

Game modes

 * Party Mode: A traditional four-player battle royale where each player competes for the most Stars.
 * Partner Party: Similar to party mode, except two players team up against one another. They can combine their dice rolls together, similarly to the team mechanics from Mario Party 7, but teammates can move independently, like in the other Mario Party games from the Hudson Soft era. However, certain mechanics from Mario Party: Star Rush return, such as the grid-based board layout and the ability to stomp on opponents when passing by to take a coin.
 * Toad's Rec Room: This mode takes advantage of the Nintendo Switch's local wireless features and the ability to create a multi-screen environment. Requires two Nintendo Switch consoles and two copies of the game to play this mode.
 * River Survival: A co-op-based mode where four players paddle an inflatable boat to the finish before time runs out. The timer can be increased by playing co-op minigames and collecting + Clocks.
 * Sound Stage: A mode in which players play rhythm-based minigames back-to-back while trying to get the highest score.
 * Challenge Road: A one-player mode where the player plays minigames while trying to complete various challenges.
 * Online Mario-thon: The online mode of the game, where players compete in five randomly selected minigames for a high score. Online leaderboards and a ranking system with rewards are confirmed.
 * Minigames: Play unlocked minigames and various other game modes.
 * Mariothon: Compete in a cup tournament and win the most minigames.

Playable
There are 20 playable characters in Super Mario Party, which is the largest number of playable characters thus far in the Mario Party series. Of these characters, 16 are available from the start, while the other 4 need to be unlocked. Goomba, Monty Mole, and Pom Pom are playable for the first time in the Mario Party series, with Pom Pom also making her overall Mario Party debut.

Hosts

 * Toad (host)
 * Toadette (guarding the stars)
 * Kamek (appears putting a Bad Luck Space on the board)
 * Lakitu (can steal coins for free or a star for 30 coins)
 * Paratroopa (will send a player to a rival's space for five coins)
 * Flutter (runs the item shop)

Boards
Super Mario Party contains four playable boards, a considerably lower amount than that of its predecessors. Each board can be played in either Party Mode or Partner Party. This is also the first Mario Party game since Mario Party 6 not to contain any form of boss battles.
 * Whomp's Domino Ruins: A ruins area with rolling boulders and Whomps that block the path.
 * Domino Ruins Treasure Hunt
 * King Bob-omb's Powderkeg Mine: A mine featuring King Bob-omb.
 * Gold Rush Mine
 * Megafruit Paradise: 4 islands connected by bridges. Landing on a ! Space causes a Mega Blooper to launch the player.
 * Watermelon Walkabout
 * Kamek's Tantalizing Tower: A golden town board with a statue of Kamek at the end.

Dice Blocks

 * The standard 1-6 Dice Block
 * Dice Blocks unique to each character that can be used any time they roll. They have the opportunity to increase their maximum number of rolls, affect their coin count, increase the chance of getting a number, or even cause them to get a 0. The player can also use a teammate's Dice Block if they have one with them. The following has all of the numbers on each character's Dice Block.
 * Dicey Dice Block, used by a Bob-omb that can follow the player on Gold Rush Mine. Its numbers are 0, 0, 0, -1, -1, -1.

Items

 * Dash Mushroom ("+3 to Dice Roll")
 * Poison Mushroom ("-2 to Dice Roll [of an opposing player]")
 * Golden Dash Mushroom ("+5 to Dice Roll")
 * Golden Drink ("Gain 1 coin each time you move. Can't use this while Peepa is in the way.") - Turns the player golden, akin to the Gold Flower.
 * Golden Pipe ("Warp close to a Star")
 * Coinado ("Steal 5 to 10 coins from rivals.") - Summons a Tornado to attack a rival of the player's choice.
 * Buddy Phone ("Call on an ally.")
 * Custom Dice Block ("Roll whatever you want to from 1 to 6. Stops allies from rolling dice.")
 * Peepa Bell ("Call a Peepa to take 1 coin from a rival each time they move.")
 * Fly Guy Ticket ("Call a Fly Guy to steal an item from a rival.")
 * Warp Box ("Warp close to a teammate.")

Board items

 * Coins
 * Red Coins (+5 to coin count)
 * Star
 * Hidden Block, a Gold Block that has a chance to rewarding the player who found it with a Star.
 * A cloud symbol which summons Lakitu to steal coins from a rival for free or give the player a star for 30 coins.
 * A wing symbol, which summons a Koopa Paratroopa that will carry its summoner to a rival's spot for five Coins.
 * A Wiggler symbol, which summons a Flutter who owns an item shop.

Spaces

 * Start Space - A blank green space where every player starts on the board.
 * Plus Space - Grants three coins to players that land on it.
 * Minus Space - Takes three coins from players that land on it.
 * Event Space ("Landing here could set off a terrifying trap. Or not, but do you really want to risk it?") - A green space with an exclamation mark.
 * VS Space ("Everyone antes coins before facing off in a VS minigame!") - An orange diamond with the word "VS" on it.
 * Ally Space ("Call one new ally to join you!") - A green space with a friend icon on it.
 * Item Space ("Pick up helpful items. It never hurts to land here!") - A green space with a mushroom on it.
 * Lucky Space - A green space with a clover on it where the player can win items or coins.
 * Bad Luck Space ("Depending on where the wheel stops, you could lose items or coins.") - A red jagged space with an exclamation and question mark that acts similar to a Bowser Space albeit with Kamek instead of Bowser.

Minigames
Super Mario Party has a total of 84 new minigames. Of these, 30 of them are Free-for-All minigames, 10 of them are 2-vs.2 minigames, 10 of them are 1-vs.3 minigames. New categories of minigames introduced are 10 Co-op minigames, where all 4 players work together to beat the minigame; 10 Team minigames, where players form a team of 8 and they all work together against another team; 10 Rhythm minigames, where players get points by performing tasks to the rhythm of a song; and 4 Toad's Rec Room minigames, where players connect two undocked Nintendo Switch consoles together and play on both of them.

Free-for-all minigames

 * Trike Harder, a tricycle racing minigame
 * Slaparazzi, a minigame similar to Flash Forward
 * Sizzling Stakes, a minigame in which players cook a meat cube
 * Snack Attack, a minigame in which players must catch giant falling popcorns with their buckets while avoiding boulders
 * Precision Gardening, a minigame in which players pump water to water a plant
 * Gridiron Gauntlet, a minigame in which players avoid Chargin' Chucks
 * Candy Shakedown, a minigame involving a candy jar
 * Fuzzy Flight School, a minigame in which players dodge Fuzzies in their airships
 * Croozin' for a Broozin', a minigame in which players go as far as they can while being chased by a swarm of Broozers
 * Fish Food, a minigame in which players throw balls into a Cheep Chomp goal
 * Stake Your Claim, a minigame in which players attempt to select the largest portion of a grid
 * Rumble Fishing, a minigame in which players fish from Lakitu's Clouds
 * Sphere Mongers
 * Soak or Croak, a minigame in which players use water guns to shoot each other off a platform.
 * Senseless Census, a minigame in which players count the number of Toads in a train car
 * Barreling Along, a racing minigame in which players ride on barrels
 * Rattle and Hmmm, a minigame that uses the HD rumble to guess the enemies
 * Can Take Pancake, a minigame in which players grab pancakes
 * Looking for Love, a minigame similar to Don't Look, involving the card suit symbols, which players look at a heart symbol.
 * Feeding Friendsy, a minigame in which players throw balls into Cheep Chomp machines
 * Look Sharp, a minigame in which players use a magnifying glass to get a character into focus
 * Social Climbers, a minigame in which players climb up a pole
 * Lost in the Shuffle, a minigame in which players aim to pick the Toad matryoshka doll with the most dolls inside
 * A minigame in which players ride UFOs to use a magnet to catch metallic balls
 * A platforming minigame in which players avoid Walleyes, Bullet Bills, and/or Thwomps while collecting coins
 * A minigame in which players avoid banana peels to reach the goal
 * A minigame in which players ground pound a roulette to collect coins
 * A minigame in which players select a cloud to jump on to collect coins
 * Absent Minded, a minigame in which players guess which character is not among the blurry pictures
 * A minigame in which players take turns petting a Wiggler while avoiding waking it up
 * A minigame in which players use a shovel to dig up coins in the desert while avoiding Pokeys
 * Lightning Round, a minigame in which players dodge lightning orbs generated by Sumo Bros. while collecting coins

2-vs-2 minigames

 * Making Faces, a minigame similar to Picture Match
 * Maths of Glory, a minigame in which players hit dice blocks to multiply numbers together, which causes their cannon to shoot down the opposing team's puzzle-piece castle with the corresponding number of shots
 * Tall Order, a minigame in which players shave ice to create a sculpture
 * Fruit Forecast, a minigame in which players catch falling fruit, while avoiding spiked balls
 * Pie Hard, a minigame in which players throw pies at each other
 * Nut Cases
 * Dash and Dine, a minigame in which players bring ingredients to Toads to create burgers
 * Tow the Line, a minigame in which players wrap a rope around pegs to match a pattern
 * Perfect Fit, a minigame in which players rotate their block to fit that of their teammate
 * A minigame in which pairs use their cursors to select fruit icons arranged to match the target
 * A minigame in which players select a number of crates

1-vs-3 minigames

 * Smash and Crab, a minigame in which the three players control a mechanical crab robot to smash the solo player with hammers
 * Off the Chain, a minigame in which one player rides a Chain Chomp and tries to knock into the other players
 * Dust Buddies, a minigame in which players vacuum a dusty room
 * Sign, Steal, Deliver, a minigame in which players place packages given to them by Toads onto a truck
 * Block and Load, a minigame in which players shoot cannonballs at a block castle
 * Dart Gallery, a minigame in which the three players throw darts at the solo player on a roulette board
 * What a Racket, a minigame in which players use badminton rackets to hit falling bombs
 * Bopping Spree, a minigame in which players hit glowing targets arranged in a diamond shape
 * Drop Shot, a minigame in which the three players climb around a fence while the solo player hits bombs at them
 * Drop Quiz, a minigame in which a screen shows a number of characters carrying fruits - the solo player selects a question to ask regarding the screen, and the three players must answer it numerically

Co-op minigames

 * Miner Setbacks, a minigame in which players carry a mine cart to the goal while avoiding Piranha Plants
 * Fetch Quest, a minigame in which players have to find nine diamonds in a maze and bring them back to the center of the maze.
 * Isthmus Be the Way, a minigame in which players take turns carrying a bomb-shaped firework across narrow zigzagging paths to get to the goal.
 * Go with the Flow, a minigame in which players collect balloons by blowing a hot-air balloon
 * Net Worth, a minigame in which players catch Cheep Cheeps
 * Sort of Fun, a minigame in which players dunk sport balls into bins
 * Fireplace Race, a minigame in which players light all candles while avoiding Swoops
 * Home on the 'Rang, a minigame in which players defeat Pokeys with boomerangs
 * Penguin Pushers, a minigame in which players herd baby Penguins towards a goal
 * Suit Yourselves, a minigame in which players find the matching playing cards

Team minigames

 * Bumper Brawl, a minigame in which encapsulated characters attempt to knock each other out of the ring
 * Get Over It, a minigame in which characters jump to avoid Grrrols
 * Lit Potato, a minigame similar to Bob-ombic Plague in which ten characters pass Bob-ombs around
 * Pull It Together, a tug-of-war minigame
 * Hammer and Sic 'Em, a minigame in which players use a hammer to pop the other team's balloons
 * It's the Pits, a minigame in which a certain part of the roulette opens, dropping characters into an abyss
 * A boat-racing minigame
 * A soccer minigame
 * A minigame in which teams ride in short trains and use a boxing glove to punch the opponents
 * Half the Battle, a minigame in which players on either side of the field attempt to collect relic pieces and fit them together with their teammates

Rhythm minigames

 * All-Star Swingers, a minigame similar to Dinger Derby
 * Rhythm and Bruise, a minigame in which players hammer a toy Monty Mole according to the rhythm
 * Take a Stab, a minigame in which players skewer fruits
 * Time to Shine, a minigame in which players copy the leader's poses
 * Baton and On, a baton parade minigame
 * Fiddler on the Hoof, a horse racing minigame
 * Strike It Rich, a minigame in which players rhythmically hit ? Blocks
 * Pep Rally, a minigame in which players rhythmically hold up a card as part of a cheer squad
 * Wiped Out, a minigame in which players rhythmically clean a high-rise window
 * Clearing the Table, a minigame in which players rhythmically pull a tablecloth from under a stack of wine glasses

Toad's Rec Room minigames

 * Banana, Split
 * Mini Baseball League a 2-vs-2 minigame in which the pair of batters attempt to score more points than the pair of outfielders.
 * Shell Shocked Deluxe, a free-for-all minigame in which players shoot each other from shell tanks inspired by Shell Shocked and Tanks a Lot.
 * Puzzle Hustle, a co-op minigame in which players put together puzzles based on 8-bit sprites of the characters.

References to other games

 * Super Mario Bros.: Mario, Goomba, and Cheep Cheep's sprites appear in Puzzle Hustle. The overworld theme is remixed for the minigame Strike It Rich.
 * Super Mario Bros. 2: Shy Guy's sprites appear in Puzzle Hustle.
 * Super Mario World: Luigi, Boo, Koopa Troopa, Monty Mole, Dry Bones, and Kamek's sprites appear in Puzzle Hustle.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii: In Challenge Mode, the sound effect that plays when a new level opens up is recycled from this game.
 * Mario Party 9: Shy Guy and Koopa Troopa's victory and losing animations are recycled from their 1st and 4th place animations respectively.
 * Mario Party: Island Tour: Bowser Jr. and Boo's victory and losing animations are recycled from their 1st and 4th place animations respectively.
 * Mario Party 10: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Bowser's victory and losing animations are recycled from their 1st and 4th place animations respectively.
 * Super Mario Maker: Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, Rosalina, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Toad's Costume Mario sprites and Chain Chomp (Super Mario Bros. theme), Blooper (Super Mario World theme), and Hammer Bro.'s (Super Mario World theme) sprites appear in Puzzle Hustle.
 * Mario Party: Star Rush: Diddy Kong's victory and losing animations are recycled from his 1st and 4th place animations respectively.