Super Mario Party

Super Mario Party for Nintendo Switch is the eleventh game in the series but the first that has been released for the Switch, and the makers of the game have gone out of their way to ensure that this new platform embraces the silly zany quirkiness of the other games while offering smooth gameplay, intuitive controls and multiplayer fun for all.

About the Game

Let Toad and Toadette be your host on this fab and fun multiplayer game that is reminiscent of old-fashioned family boardgame nights, but without the discovery that someone has made away with the dice and the fighting over getting the best token to play as. Okay, you might fight over which character you want to play as, but there are way more choices than any average boardgame so the odds are better that everyone will be happy!

Each character has their own dice in this version, so do choose carefully as the dice allow you to use powers that the other players will not have. Of course, your character will also have flaws or weaknesses that the others don’t have too, so you should be mindful of those! Play as many characters as you can and see which characters and their powers suit your style of play the best.

If you play as a team, you can both use the other’s dice which means that you will both enjoy a greater range of movement and benefit from your partnership. Almost everything is better with friends and playing this way can prove that!

Players have a lot of agency, moving around the board at will, more or less, rather than all being crammed into a vehicle to be taken to the next play station. You do need to wait a little while longer for other players to all have their turn and trigger the next mini game, but the difference is negligible and you will hardly notice the wait as you anticipate winning the next star or beating your sister in the next minigame!

Plenty to Explore

There are four boardgames for you to play on, along with several new modes of play and a staggering 80 minigames to play through. Two of the boardgames take it upon themselves to upset play at random intervals, so you can be winning by a mile, only to have the board shake things up and put you all the way back in last place, facing a serious battle to get back to where you were!

Games within the Game

Look out for the following minigames among the huge number that are available to play:

• River Survival: rafting down a river with other players means that you must all work together for survival, aiming for the gentlest part of the rapids, popping balloons that extend your countdown timer and gathering loot and prizes as best you can as you go along. Sure to be a raucous and fun favourite with family members of all ages
• Slapparazzi: utterly ridiculous in description but curiously satisfying and with some hilarious pictures as a result, in this game you have to slap other player’s characters out of the way as the photograph is taken, aiming to be the only one standing and posing nicely, while they all tumble about behind you! Time it right, or else they will get you instead. A lot of fun!
• Sound Stage: see just how much rhythm you do have after all, tapping out the beat in time with the game. Don’t hesitate or stop or you will fail in your mission!