Star (Mario Party series)

"Will you trade green for a gold?"

- MC Ballyhoo

Stars (referred to as Super Stars only in the Bowser Party mode of Mario Party 10) are essential collectibles in the Mario Party series of games. They are most often found at Star Spaces. Once a Star is bought, its Star Space moves to another location. Traditionally, 20 coins are required to pay for these Stars, but some of the more recent titles in the series feature unique ways for acquiring these precious items. For instance, in Snowflake Lake, players receive a certain number of Stars, but they can use Chain Chomps to steal these Stars. During duels, Stars and coins can be wagered via choice (until Mario Party 6) or by roulette (since Mario Party 7).

Additionally, at the end of each game, there is an option to retrieve Bonus Stars to increase the chances of winning the game.

In Mario Party 6, Stars have an additional function. If players finish a board match or play enough minigames, they receive Stars. These Stars can be traded for unlockables in the Star Bank. In Mario Party Advance, Stars appear only during the Bonus Board.

Mario Party 9 and Mario Party 10 have a different collection system. Instead of collecting Stars to become the Super Star, one must collect Mini Stars (or complete various other goals in Mario Party: Island Tour). However, at the end of a party in Mario Party 9 and Mario Party 10, five Mini Stars combine into one Star when the game is determining the Super Star. In Mario Party 10, however, Stars are the main objective in the side amiibo Party mode, where they can once again be collected for 20 coins (40 for both if the homestretch is reached). In Mario Party: Star Rush, Stars are obtained by beating boss minigames in the Toad Scramble mode or by collecting Star Balloons in the Balloon Bash mode. In Super Mario Party, Stars are given by Toadette, who moves around the board similarly to in early Mario Party games.

Trivia
The maximum number of stars players can hold in most Mario Party series is 99 and collecting 10 or more stars will cause "×" to disappear, while in Nintendo Gamecube Mario Party era (Mario Party 4 to Mario Party 7), the maximum number of stars was extended to 999 and collecting 100 or more stars will cause "×" to disappear (simiar to coin)