Mario Party : le guide de la série reine des soirées

Mario Party: The Ultimate Party Game Series Guide

2030 words | Reading time : 10 minute(s)

SeriesMario PartyMultiplayer

More than 84 million copies sold to wreck friendships since 1998. Launched on December 18, 1998 on Nintendo 64 by Hudson Soft, the series later moved to NDcube, a Nintendo subsidiary. This guide retraces its 25 years of evolution, the recipe built on the board, the stars and the mini-games, and the Switch era with Super Mario Party and Mario Party Superstars.

Since 1998, Mario Party has turned the living room into a battlefield: a virtual game board, dice, stars to steal and dozens of mini-games where friendships are made and broken. With more than 84 million copies sold (Nintendo figure, March 2025), the saga is quite simply the worldwide benchmark for the party game.

From the Nintendo 64 to the records set by Super Mario Party Jamboree on Switch, here is the complete history of the series, its one-of-a-kind gameplay recipe, and our tips for picking the perfect entry to liven up your next party night.

Contents

1998: Hudson Soft invents the video game party

Mario Party was born under Nintendo's supervision, but its original creator is the Japanese studio Hudson Soft, backed up by CAProduction. The concept, set in motion in 1996, is crystal clear: a virtual board game that makes the most of the Nintendo 64's four controller ports. The first entry came out on December 18, 1998 in Japan, then in early 1999 in the West.

The formula clicked immediately: four players roll the dice, move across a board strewn with bonus spaces and traps, pile up coins to buy stars, and face off in a mini-game at the end of every turn. Bowser prowls the board to ruin everyone's plans, and the bonus stars handed out once the game ends can flip the standings at the very last second.

That blend of light strategy, skill and pure luck became the series' signature: nobody is ever truly eliminated, and nobody has ever truly won before the final screen.

The cast of the first Mario Party gathered around the board
Hudson Soft laid down the formula as early as 1998: a board, stars, mini-games.

From Hudson Soft to NDcube: 25 years of evolution

Hudson Soft developed the first eight numbered entries, enriching the formula with every iteration:

  • Mario Party 2 (1999 in Japan) introduced items and dressed the characters up to match each board;
  • Mario Party 3 (2000 in Japan) marked the playable debut of Daisy and Waluigi in the series;
  • the GameCube era (Mario Party 4 to 7, 2002-2005) brought the capsule system, a microphone bundled with Mario Party 6 and even an 8-player mode with shared controllers in Mario Party 7;
  • Mario Party 8 (Wii, 2007) bet everything on the Wiimote's motion detection.

In 2012, Hudson Soft was absorbed by Konami, but a large part of its veterans had already joined NDcube, a Nintendo subsidiary, which picked up the torch with Mario Party 9 (2012). That entry dared a radical turn: every player travels together in a single vehicle and collects mini stars, a divisive mechanic carried over into Mario Party 10 (Wii U, 2015) and its Bowser Party (on the GamePad) and amiibo Party modes.

The series also branched out onto handhelds: Mario Party Advance (GBA, 2005), Mario Party DS (2007), then Island Tour (2013), Star Rush (2016) and The Top 100 (2017) on 3DS.

Board, stars and mini-games: the recipe for friendly chaos

If Mario Party has ruled party nights for over 25 years, it is thanks to a fearsomely effective gameplay loop. Every turn plays out in two stages: the board phase, where you roll the die and every space can hand out coins, trigger an event or summon Bowser; then the mini-game, drawn at random depending on the spaces everyone landed on: free-for-all, two against two or one against three.

The mini-games are the beating heart of the series: tests of reflexes, memory, rhythm or dexterity, playable in a matter of seconds and instantly clear to anyone. That is what makes Mario Party unique: a six-year-old can beat a video game veteran, and the luck of the dice, like the bonus stars at the end of the game, keeps the suspense alive right to the finish.

That cocktail has earned the series its reputation as a friendship breaker: stealing a loved one's star with a space or an item is part and parcel of the experience, and that is exactly what has everyone howling with laughter around the couch.

Peach's Birthday Cake board, in the first Mario Party
Every board has its own rule that twists the race for stars.

The Switch era: Super Mario Party, Superstars and Jamboree

The Nintendo Switch gave the series its commercial golden age, with three complementary entries:

  • Super Mario Party (October 5, 2018): a return to the classic turn-based format, character-specific dice and an ally system, with 80 mini-games. A free update in April 2021 added online play to the main modes. With 21.28 million copies (December 2025), it is the best-selling entry in the whole series.
  • Mario Party Superstars (October 29, 2021): the nostalgia compilation par excellence, with 5 boards taken from the Nintendo 64 entries and 100 classic mini-games brought up to date, all of it fully playable online. More than 14 million sales as of March 2025.
  • Super Mario Party Jamboree (October 17, 2024): the most generous entry in the saga's history, with 7 boards (including the return of Western Land from Mario Party 2 and of the rainbow castle from the very first entry), more than 110 mini-games, the online mode Koopathlon for 20 players and 22 playable characters, a series record, including newcomers Pauline and Ninji.

With 6.17 million copies sold as of December 31, 2024, Jamboree posted the best launch in the franchise's history. A Nintendo Switch 2 edition expanded with the Jamboree TV mode (playing with the mouse, the camera and the microphone) came out on July 24, 2025.

Which Mario Party should you pick for your party night?

It all depends on your crowd and your style of party:

  • For a night with friends or with the family today: Super Mario Party Jamboree is the obvious pick. It is the richest entry in content, its boards are varied and its massive online modes keep the party going well after the night is over.
  • For Nintendo 64 nostalgics: Mario Party Superstars revives the cult boards and mini-games of the early days, with full online play, ideal for getting the gang back together from a distance.
  • For young children or beginners: Super Mario Party remains very accessible, and its ally system helps even out the games.
  • For purists: the three Nintendo 64 entries are playable through the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription.

One universal tip: line up four controllers and some snacks, and accept in advance that someone will steal a star from you on the very last turn. Those are the rules of the game.

Trivia: protective gloves and sales records

The wildest story in the series goes all the way back to the very first entry. Some mini-games asked players to spin the analog stick as fast as possible, and many of them used... the palm of their hand, giving themselves blisters and burns. After around a hundred complaints, Nintendo reached an agreement in 2000 with the Attorney General of the State of New York: the company committed to supplying protective gloves to the households that owned the game, a program estimated at up to 80 million dollars.

Other standout facts: the series counts 18 main entries between 1998 and 2024 (leaving out Mario Party-e, an e-Reader card game released in 2003, and the re-releases), and the Switch era alone accounts for more than 41 million cumulative sales across Super Mario Party, Superstars and Jamboree. Few sagas can boast of having sat three generations down to play together around the same couch.

Mario Party in numbers: the series' key facts

First entry Mario Party, Nintendo 64 – December 18, 1998 (Japan)
Original creator Hudson Soft (up to Mario Party 8), under Nintendo's supervision
Current developer NDcube, a Nintendo subsidiary (since Mario Party 9, 2012)
Cumulative series sales More than 84 million copies (Nintendo, March 2025)
Best-selling entry Super Mario Party (2018): 21.28 million (December 2025)
Latest entry Super Mario Party Jamboree – October 17, 2024 (Switch)
Jamboree's records 22 playable characters, more than 110 mini-games, 7 boards

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FAQ

  • How many Mario Party games are there?
    The series counts 18 main entries released between 1998 and 2024: 13 on home consoles (from Mario Party on Nintendo 64 to Super Mario Party Jamboree on Switch) and 5 on handhelds (Game Boy Advance, DS and 3DS), not counting re-releases such as the Nintendo Switch 2 edition of Jamboree.
  • Which Mario Party is the best-selling one?
    Super Mario Party (2018) holds the record with 21.28 million copies sold as of December 2025. Mario Party Superstars is past 14 million and Super Mario Party Jamboree pulled off the best launch in the series with 6.17 million copies in just two and a half months.
  • Can you play Mario Party online?
    Yes. Mario Party Superstars has offered all of its modes online since launch, Super Mario Party got online play through a free update in April 2021, and Super Mario Party Jamboree includes the Koopathlon, an online mode for up to 20 players.
  • Why did Nintendo hand out gloves to Mario Party players?
    In the first Mario Party (N64), some mini-games asked players to spin the stick very fast, and players hurt the palm of their hand. After an agreement reached in 2000 with the New York Attorney General, Nintendo committed to supplying protective gloves, a program valued at up to 80 million dollars.
  • Who develops Mario Party today?
    Since Mario Party 9 (2012), the series has been developed by NDcube, a Nintendo subsidiary that hired many former Hudson Soft staff, the studio that created the first eight entries before being absorbed by Konami in 2012.
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