Mario Party

Friendship ends where Mario Party begins. When Nintendo built a dice-driven board game wrapped around a series of mini-games for its mascots in the late nineties, it created a phenomenon that has since ruined more than one cozy game night and sent countless controllers spinning.

The concept was simple and devilishly addictive. Up to four players moved around a board turn by turn, rolled the dice and tried to collect as many stars and coins as possible. After each round a mini-game broke out, a short contest of skill, reflexes or luck where the rewards were handed out. It was precisely these dozens of varied mini-games that formed the heart of the fun, turning a calm board game into a battle full of twists where even the last-placed player could snatch victory at the last moment thanks to luck and a well-timed star.

The world of Mario Party gathered the classic heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom, from Mario and Luigi to Princess Peach, Yoshi and Donkey Kong, each with a board full of props. Competitiveness and the element of chance made every match an unpredictable experience where the lead could flip literally within a single round.

The series was developed by Hudson Soft, masters of party and board games who kept building the brand in the years that followed. Some mini-games in the original required frantic spinning of the analog stick, which left many players with unpleasant reminders on their palms and went down in history as a cautionary legend.

Mario Party kicked off one of the most enduring gaming brands ever and defined what a social game around a single screen should look like. Its legacy lives on in dozens of sequels, but the magic of that first gathering around the board remains unmistakable.

Why play: The founder of the entire party-game genre, where a board game blends with mini-games and where friendship faces its toughest test.