50 Fun Facts About Mario Party

After players blistered their palms spinning the stick in the first Mario Party, what did Nintendo agree to provide?

Gloves were part of a settlement with New York's attorney general after about 90 complaints of blisters and friction burns. Later re-releases warn players not to turn the stick with their palms.

In the original Mario Party, which character steals a rival's coins or Star for any player who passes him?

Boo steals coins for free in the first game but charges 50 coins to take a Star. Thieving for hire became his regular role on later boards.

Mario Party 3 added two playable newcomers to the original six: Princess Daisy and which other character?

Waluigi and Daisy were the first additions to the cast, yet neither can be picked in Mario Party 3's Story Mode, where both turn up as opponents instead.

Super Mario Party on Nintendo Switch was the first game in the Mario Party series to offer which feature?

Online play made its debut here, letting boards and minigames be played over the internet. In the game, Birdo refers to this entry as the 11th party.

In Super Mario Party, Birdo runs regular quiz sessions that test players on which subject?

Earlier games in the series are her topic: Birdo quizzes players on the previous home console entries and also gives out stickers of herself.

In Mario Party 3, which dice-headed guide is revealed at the end to be the real Millennium Star?

Tumble is a magical die brought to life as the players' guide. After the fake star loses the final battle and flees, the top of his cap opens to show the genuine one.

Mario Party Advance is the only game in the entire Mario Party series that does not feature which character?

Wario sits out only this once: the Game Boy Advance entry has just four playable characters, the smallest roster of any game in the series.

What occasion are the hosts of Mario Party 4 celebrating for the player's character inside the Party Cube?

A birthday is the excuse for the whole game: each host has a present to give, but the player must win it on that host's board first.

In Mario Party DS, what does Bowser do to Mario and friends who accept his invitation to a castle feast?

Bowser shrinks them with his new Minimizer and flings them to the far side of the kingdom, leaving the tiny heroes in a world of gigantic challenges.

Mario Party 9 changed how the board is crossed: how do all four players now travel along it?

Together in one vehicle, such as a car on Toad Road or a legged machine in Bob-omb Factory, with everyone still taking turns to roll the dice.

Hudson Soft, original developer of the Mario Party series, was best known for creating which other franchise?

Bomberman was Hudson Soft's signature creation. The studio made the first eight home console Mario Party games and two handheld ones before Konami absorbed it.

Which Nintendo subsidiary took over development of the Mario Party series with Mario Party 9 in 2012?

NDcube took the reins after several of Hudson Soft's key designers moved there, and the team made Wii Party before its first Mario Party.

Which group from Paper Mario hosts Mario Party 5, with each member guiding the player through a different mode?

Star Spirits is their original name, though Mario Party 5 calls them the Star Guards, protectors of a dream world named Dream Depot.

Which character hosts Mario Party 7, inviting Mario and his friends on a cruise around the world?

Toadsworth, who first appeared in Super Mario Sunshine, offers the trip aboard the MSS Sea Star, and an uninvited Bowser spends the game trying to ruin it.

Which ringmaster hosts Mario Party 8's Star Carnival alongside his talking top hat, Big Top?

MC Ballyhoo promises the carnival's winner the title of Superstar and a year's supply of candy, a ceremony Bowser interrupts by stealing the Star Rod.

Brighton and Twila, the feuding hosts of Mario Party 6, are living versions of which pair?

The sun and moon fall out over which of them is more impressive, so the players collect Stars to end the quarrel while every board flips between day and night.

Mario Party 6 on GameCube came packaged with which accessory, used for a set of special minigames?

A microphone came in the box for voice-controlled minigames and a dedicated Mic mode, and the next GameCube entry was bundled with one too.

Mario Party 5 replaced shop-bought items with which objects, which can be thrown onto spaces as traps?

Capsules come free from a machine on the board, and Mario Party 6 and Mario Party 7 kept the system but renamed them Orbs.

In Mario Party 10's Bowser Party mode, the player controlling Bowser uses which controller?

The Wii U GamePad puts Bowser in the hands of a fifth player, who chases up to four others playing as Team Mario.

In Mario Party 7's Team Mode, which character is Birdo's default partner?

Yoshi teams with Birdo by default in Mario Party 7 and again in Mario Party 8, where the pair go by the team name Egg Explosion.

Birdo became a playable character in Mario Party 7 alongside which other unlockable newcomer?

Dry Bones joined with her, and Birdo herself has to be unlocked by spending 1,000 mileage points in the game's Duty Free Shop.

Which character made her Mario Party debut as the only newcomer in Mario Party 6, unlocked at the Star Bank?

Toadette costs 30 Stars at the Star Bank, and by the following numbered game she was available from the start.

Super Mario Party Jamboree added two playable newcomers to the series: Ninji and which other character?

Pauline and Ninji brought the roster to 22 playable characters, more than any earlier game in the series had offered.

Which character first became playable in the Mario Party series in Mario Party 10, the same game as Spike?

Rosalina arrived with Spike, and the same game brought Donkey Kong back as a playable character for the first time since Mario Party 4.

Which minion of Bowser joined the playable roster in Mario Party 5 and was dropped again after Mario Party 6?

Koopa Kid, known as Mini Bowser in PAL regions, was written out of the series entirely from Mario Party 8, with Bowser Jr. taking over his role.

In Mario Party Advance, where does the player complete quests to recover the scattered minigames and Gaddgets?

Shroom City is home to fifty quests handed out by its residents, after Bowser knocks the minigames and Gaddgets down from Party World in the sky.

Mario Party Advance came packaged with which physical extra, allowing multiplayer without a link cable?

A paper game board, the Bonus Board, came in the box: players cut out the pieces themselves and let the Game Boy Advance act as the dice.

In Mario Party 3, which showman forces players who land on his space to gamble all of their coins?

Game Guy is a Shy Guy in a bowtie whose luck-based contests usually double a player's coins or wipe them out, and the Lucky Charm item can send a rival to him.

In Mario Party 3's Story Mode, what must the player collect seven of, including Wit, Courage and Mischief?

Star Stamps are handed out one win at a time, and a full card of seven is the Millennium Star's condition for naming the top Superstar in the universe.

Which Mario Party 2 minigame has players take one or two fruits per turn, eliminating whoever takes the wrong item?

Honeycomb Havoc is a dressed-up version of the counting game nim: a slow Dice Block shows 1 or 2, and whoever ends up with a honeycomb is chased out of the minigame.

Which Mario Party 3 minigame is a buzzer quiz hosted by Toad, where a wrong answer gets the player crushed?

M.P.I.Q. stands for Mario Party Intelligence Quotient: Toad's questions appear one letter at a time, and the first player to give three correct answers wins.

In Mario Party 3's story, the Millennium Star transports Mario and his friends inside which object?

A toy box is the setting, flown in dangling from Lakitu's fishing rod, and the minigames use stylized two-dimensional props to match the theme.

Which Mario Party 3 board returned in Mario Party Superstars as one of five remade Nintendo 64 boards?

Woody Woods, a forest where signposts keep players guessing which way to go, came back along with 27 of Mario Party 3's minigames.

In the Mario Party minigame Tug o' War, the losing side is dragged into the mouth of which giant creature?

A giant Piranha Plant waits between the two sides, and the solo player pulls against the other three while dressed in a Bowser Suit.

Mario Party 2 reworked the flag-following minigame Mushroom Mix-Up under which new name, set over a lava pit?

Hexagon Heat keeps the rules: Toad raises a colored flag and every platform of another color sinks, now into lava instead of water.

The flag-raising Mario Party minigame led by a Shy Guy on a boat is a parody of which children's game?

Simon Says is the model for Shy Guy Says: players must copy whichever red or white flag he raises, and anyone who gets it wrong is eliminated.

The first Mario Party's Face Lift minigame parodies a Nintendo 64 title screen with a backdrop reading what?

Super Bowser 64 appears only in the first game's version, where each player distorts the villain's facial features on a split screen.

In the first Mario Party, which single-player mode sends the player through all 50 minigames with a stock of lives?

Mini-Game Island starts the player with four lives and takes one away for every failed minigame, while every 100 coins collected earns another.

In Mario Party, which board event has a player hit three blocks to decide who must hand coins or Stars to whom?

Chance Time can move coins and even Stars between any two players, which makes it a risky gamble that can turn a whole board around in one go.

Mario Party 2 dresses its characters to suit each board: what are they dressed as on Horror Land?

Wizards is the costume and the title each player is given there, and Horror Land also switches between day and night every two turns.

A 2003 Mario Party card game could unlock minigames by scanning its cards with which Game Boy Advance add-on?

The Nintendo e-Reader read dot-codes printed on some of Mario Party-e's cards, and the boxed set also came with a play mat and a ready-made deck of 64 cards.

In Mario Party 9, what do players compete to collect the most of in place of the usual coins?

Mini Stars are picked up along the route and won in minigames, while their dark purple counterparts, Mini Ztars, take them away again.

In Super Mario Party, Birdo gives the player a golden item to use in which four-player co-op mode?

River Survival has four players paddle an inflatable boat down a branching river before time runs out, and Birdo's golden oar is a reward to use there.

In Mario Party 4, which item lets a player roll two Dice Blocks and squash rivals along the way to take coins?

A Mega Mushroom takes ten coins from each rival it flattens, but its giant user also strides straight past Star Spaces without stopping.

In Stardust Battle, the final fight of Mario Party 3's Story Mode, what does the player throw at the Millennium Star?

Fallen meteors rain down in flames, cool off shortly after landing and can then be thrown back, with the Millennium Star glowing redder after each hit.

In Mario Party 3's Duel Mode, what must a player hand over at the start of each turn to keep a partner?

A coin salary keeps partners such as Chain Chomps fighting: a partner whose wage cannot be paid simply leaves, and two partners mean two wages.

At the end of a classic Mario Party board, what is awarded for feats such as winning the most minigames?

Bonus Stars can overturn the result after the final turn, and in Mario Party 3 one of them goes to whoever landed on the most ? Spaces.

Which Super Mario Party mode lets two Nintendo Switch consoles be placed together to form one multi-screen playfield?

Toad's Rec Room joins the screens over local wireless, and one of its minigames needs two consoles and two copies of the game.

In the Mario Party minigame Hot Rope Jump, the skipping rope is made from a chain of which fiery enemies?

Lava Bubbles form the rope, and in later versions they turn from blue to orange after five jumps as the swing gets faster and faster.

Mario Party 7 added a mode for up to eight people: how do they all play on one GameCube?

Players share controllers in Deluxe Cruise: two people hold each of the four pads, one using the L button and stick and the other the R button and C-stick.