[[{{{1}}} (series)|{{{1}}} series]]The Mario Party series, which first started in 1999 with Mario Party for the Nintendo 64, is a multiplayer Mario gaming series. The Mario Party series currently has nine games in the series, with spin-offs including Mario Party DS, Mario Party Advance, and Mario Party-e.
In the games, players run across digital game boards as classic Mario characters, collecting coins, items and eventually stars. The game is divided into turns, usually in ranks of ten to fifty. At the end of each turn a minigame is played, and the winner receives a small coin bonus. Whoever has the most most stars and/or coins at the end wins.
Party Mode
Every game in the main series has a standard Party Mode in which up to four players play through a board, trying to collect as many stars as possible. In every turn, each player rolls a die and progresses on the board, which usually has branching paths. Coins are primarily earned by performing well in a minigame played at the end of each turn. On most boards, players earn stars by reaching a star space and purchasing a star for a certain amount of coins. The star space appears randomly on one of several pre-determined locations and moves every time a star is purchased, usually occupying a blue space.
Every Mario Party contains at least 50 to almost 115 minigames with a few different types. Four-player games are a free-for-all in which players compete individually. In 2-on-2 and 1-on-3 minigames, players compete as two groups, cooperating to win, even though they are still competing individually in the main game. Some minigames in Mario Party 1 are 4-player co-op, even though it doesn't say it. In most situations, winners earn ten coins each.
Battle minigames first appeared in Mario Party 2. These games are like the 4-player games, but are often more elaborate. Instead of winners earning ten coins each, each player contributes a randomly selected number of coins (or all coins if the player falls short of the pot amount). The winner of the minigame receives 70% of the pot, the second place winner receives the other 30%, and a random player occasionally gets a coin left over from rounding.
Duel minigames also debuted in Mario Party 2, and were omitted in Mario Party 4 (though the Story minigames were all duels), but returned again in Mario Party 5. Duel games pit two players against each other. In Party Mode, one player initiates the duel, wagering coins or even a star against another player. The winner of the duel receives all coins or stars wagered. Starting with Mario Party 7, the player no longer chooses the wager in a duel, rather, the duel takes place and the prize to the winner, if any, is randomly determined.
Minigame Mode
In addition to Party mode, every Mario Party has a minigame mode in which minigames are played with the board game. Minigame modes vary from game to game, but later games have many different variations. In one such example from Mario Party 5, each player tries to fill a board with as many spaces as possible in his or her color by winning minigames.
Games
- Mario Party (N64, 1999)
- Mario Party 2 (N64, 2000)
- Mario Party 3 (N64, 2001)
- Mario Party 4 (Gamecube, 2002)
- Mario Party-e (Game Boy Advance e-Reader, 2003)
- Mario Party 5 (Gamecube, 2003)
- Mario Party 6 (Gamecube, 2004)
- Mario Party Advance (Game Boy Advance, 2005)
- Mario Party 7 (Gamecube, 2005)
- Mario Party 8 (Wii, 2007)
- Mario Party DS (Nintendo DS, 2007)
- Mario Party 9 (Wii, 2012)
- Mario Party: Island Tour (3DS, 2013)
- Mario Party 10 (Wii U, 2015)
Characters
Playable:
| Character | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Advance | DS | Island Tour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birdo | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Blooper | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Boo | 3 | 2 | |||||||||||
| Bowser | 3 | 6 | |||||||||||
| Bowser Jr. | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Donkey Kong | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Dry Bones | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Hammer Bro. | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Kamek7 | 12 | ||||||||||||
| Koopa Kid8 | 3 | 2 | |||||||||||
| Koopa Troopa | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Luigi | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Mario | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Mii | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Princess Daisy | 2 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Princess Peach | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Rosalina | |||||||||||||
| Shy Guy | 3 | 12 | |||||||||||
| Spike | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Toad | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Toadette | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Waluigi | 2 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Wario | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Yoshi | 1 |
Notes
- ^ Is an unlockable character.
- ^ Is only playable in Party Mode.
- ^ Is only playable in the Beach Volley Folley minigame in 4.
- ^ Is only playable in the Super Duel Mode in 5.
- ^ Is only playable in the Extra mode in 8.
- ^ Is only playable in the Bowser Party, Bowser Challenge, and amiibo Party modes in 10.
- ^ In NA regions, Kamek is called "Magikoopa".
- ^ In PAL regions, Koopa Kid is called "Mini Bowser".
- Mario
- Luigi
- Peach
- Yoshi
- Wario
- Waluigi
- Daisy
- Toad
- Rosalina
- Birdo
- Shy Guy
- Koopa Troopa
- Kamek
- Donkey Kong
- Koopa Kid
- Boo
- Toadette
- Dry Bones
- Blooper
- Hammer Bro.
- Bowser
- King Boo
- Petey Piranha
- Toadsworth
- Bowser Jr.
- Bob-omb
- Goomba
- Tumble
- Millennium Star
- Battle T.
- Holly Koopa
- Fake Millennium Star
- Koopa Krag
- Misstar
- Brighton
- Eldstar
- Mii
- MC Ballyhoo
- Big Top
- Muskular
- Skolar
- Wiggler
- Bullet Bill
- Twila
- Chain Chomp
- Thwomp
- Whomp
Spaces
Blue Space
If players land here, they are given three coins.
Red Space
Landing on this space has players lose three coins.
Star Space
If players reach the Star Space, they may purchase a Star for twenty coins. Though, other conditions may apply for other boards.
Bowser Space
If players land here, something unlucky is likely to happen. Options include playing a Bowser minigame, giving everyone all the same amount of coins. Someone may even lose a Star or coins and be given to others as a luckier thing.
Donkey Kong Space
If players land here, they may play a Donkey Kong-based minigame.
Chance Space
When players land here, something like switching directions with others or doubling spaces may happen to them.
Happening Space
When players land on this space, an event triggers causing either lucky or unlucky things to reign upon players.
Big Boo
When players pass Big Boo, he steals coins for free from someone or steals a Star for the cost of fifty coins.
Blue Coin Space
When the player lands on one, a blue dice block appears. When smashed, that given number is the certain amount of coins the player is going to get.
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Console Games | ||
| Mario Party (1998, N64) | Mario Party 2 (1999, N64) | Mario Party 3 (2000, N64) | Mario Party 4 (2002, GameCube) | Mario Party 5 (2003, GameCube) | Mario Party 6 (2004, GameCube) | Mario Party 7 (2005, GameCube) | Mario Party 8 (2007, Wii) | Mario Party 9 (2012, Wii) | Mario Party 10 (2015, Wii U) | Super Mario Party (2018, Switch) | Mario Party Superstars (2021, Switch) | ||
| Handheld Games | ||
| Mario Party-e (2003, GBA) | Mario Party Advance (2005, GBA) | Mario Party DS (2007, DS) | Mario Party: Island Tour (2013, 3DS) | Mario Party: Star Rush (2016, 3DS) | Mario Party: The Top 100 (2017, 3DS) | ||