When it comes to playing with family or friends, few games deliver as much fun as Mario Party. The famous red hat hero, along with his pals and enemies, has starred in over ten Mario Party installments. All the way back from 1998 to modern day, Mario Party has ruled the virtual board game market.

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Though every installment brings some layer of fun, there is genuine criticism to be levied against the series. Some are much harder to play with friends, some can be more luck-dependent, and many fail to innovate enough. Nonetheless, the best titles in the series remain on the top echelon of party games.

Updated May 10, 2023, By Dominic Allen: The Mario Party titles are one of the biggest subseries to the overall Mario franchise. Definitely in the top three, along with Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros, although the latter is debatable on whether it should count. Entries, old and new, continue to be incredibly popular with the gaming community. This is likely due to how fun these games are, but also how fun they are to watch. Like a real game show watching other people get royally screwed over has its own enjoyable quality, different than if you were in the Hot Seat. While most of the older entries will require old hardware, the first two games are available on Switch Online, with the third upcoming. This makes it easier to start from the beginning.

18 Mario Party-e

One of the minigames for Mario Party-e.
  • Release Year: 2003
  • Platform: Game Boy Advance

A long time ago, Nintendo released the e-Reader, a fun little accessory for the Game Boy Advance that few people actually owned. The device could be used in some games to open up new features, an example being extra levels in the GBA remake of Super Mario Bros. 3.

In 2003, Nintendo released Mario Party-e, which took advantage of the e-Reader. This was essentially a card game with minigames that could be played through the Game Boy Advance, and for what it is, it’s actually quite fun.

That being said, it’s almost impossible to find the hardware and cards for this limited old game, and it’s much more of a tech experiment than something you’ll be replaying endlessly with friends. It’s a fascinating entry but is definitely the worst Mario Party game for those looking for a proper fun time.

17 Mario Party Advance

Peach and Mario play a morbid minigame with Whomps in Mario Party Advance
  • Release Year: 2005
  • Platform: Game Boy Advance

Mario Party Advance is the first fully handheld title in the Mario Party series. It brought many of the iconic things, such as the dice roll and frantic minigames, to a small console.

Though it is admirable that Nintendo put a lot of work into making a portable Party experience, the game falters in one critical area: it isn't much of a party.

Mario Party Advance isn't a bad game. Most of the minigames are fun, but it’s tailored to a single-player experience since finding three friends with Game Boys and cartridges is a massive challenge.

If you’re craving the best Mario Party game to play in the modern day, this is not likely to be the one you’ll want to revisit.

16 Mario Party DS

Gambling with Wario in Mario Party DS
  • Release Year: 2007
  • Platform: Nintendo DS

In 2007, Nintendo finally gave players a true portable Mario Party experience. Mario Party DS picks up the slack of its Game Boy Advance counterpart by introducing wireless play with just one game card, but that doesn’t make up for its minigame list being fairly short and a little too dedicated to the touch screen.

Mario Party DS isn't too different from the games that preceded it, it does a perfect job of bringing the experience on the go with an impressive number of minigames and diverse boards. Much like Mario Party Advance, though, needing multiple consoles hurts this game and makes it hard to enjoy with friends.

15 Mario Party: Star Rush

Running with Wario and Rosalina in Mario Party Star Rush
  • Release Year: 2016
  • Platform: Nintendo 3DS

Mario Party: Star Rush is perhaps the most unique game in the series. Gone is the usual board-based play in favor of a new main mode: Toad Scramble.

For the first time, the turn-based gameplay has been scrapped for simultaneous movement and mayhem until all players fight a final boss. It's great Nintendo thought up something brand new for the series, but it doesn't stop Star Rush from being on the bare-bones side.

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The biggest drawback is the minigame count, as there are only 53 minigames. To put that in perspective, Mario Party DS had 73 minigames, and the original Mario Party had 50.

Considering how much later this game was released and how much innovation they were trying to go for, this is undoubtedly one of the most pointless and underwhelming Mario Party titles.

14 Mario Party: Island Tour

Rolling on some balls in Mario Party Island Tour
  • Release Year: 2013
  • Platform: Nintendo 3DS

Island Tour was the first Mario Party game on the 3DS, and also the first handheld game in the series since Mario Party DS six years prior. Like Mario Party DS, Island Tour only requires one game card to play with others locally.

That's good, because with the franchise's signature luck-based play being rampant here, playing alone could get especially tedious.

That said, this is definitely the portable Mario Party doing the most innovations, as the boards are especially diverse and involve a lot of unusual mechanics. It’s easily the best handheld Mario Party game thanks to its unique twists on the classic Mario Party formula, and it would absolutely be the most welcome for a home console remake.

13 Mario Party: The Top 100

Blowing up Bowser in a classic original Mario Party minigame in Mario Party Top 100
  • Release Year: 2017
  • Platform: Nintendo 3DS

At a glance, Mario Party: The Top 100 seems like an easy win. It's a Mario Party title featuring all of the greatest minigames from every prior entry, and while some favorites obviously didn't make the cut, Star Rush's lackluster catalog made it look enormous by comparison.

That said, it still has the same problem as the other portable Mario Party games, even if it’s saved by having better gameplay and visuals than some of the weaker installments in the series. So, it’s definitely better than the content-starved handheld games, but it’s hard to say it’s more enjoyable than the home console titles.

12 Mario Party 9

Riding in a car together in Mario Party 9
  • Release Year: 2012
  • Platform: Nintendo Wii

Mario Party 9 is perhaps the most controversial game in the series. It was the first to implement a brand new play style for the main Party Mode.

Instead of the usual hit dice and running around the board, this time, everyone rides together in a car. It's an interesting approach, but it can take away from the competitive board game feel the series is known for.

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It still manages to be superior to every handheld Mario Party game, though, with its spectacular variety of minigames that combine the simple button setup of the Wii Remote and the entertaining motion controls. Both of these have always felt at-home on the Wii, and while it’s one of the worst entries, you’re going to have a fun time with friends.

11 Mario Party 10

Driving in a car again in Mario Party 10
  • Release Year: 2015
  • Platform: Nintendo Wii U

There’s not a lot to say about Mario Party 10, as it mostly feels like an expansion of Mario Party 9. It brings back the car to hold all the players together, the map remains linear, and the entire game is played on Wii Remotes. It’s altogether just another version of Mario Party 9 with some different maps and minigames.

That said, it has one major upgrade that makes it infinitely more fun, and that is the Bowser Party mode. This lets one player use the Wii U Gamepad to control Bowser in four-on-one minigames, all of which feel much more elaborate and fun than most other Mario Party games. It still suffers from many flaws of Mario Party 9, but having this unique gimmick makes the linear levels and shared car feel much more worthwhile.

10 Mario Party

Playing the classic Mushroom Mix-Up game from Mario Party 1
  • Release Year: 1998
  • Platform: Nintendo 64, Switch Online

This is the game that started it all. The original Mario Party laid the foundation for all its sequels from the dice rolling to blue spaces awarding three coins, and cemented the original formula for board games and minigames for every game onward. It can be easy to forget how good the boards were in the first Mario Party, and they're still some of the best in the series.

The outcomes of some minigames are a bit on the harsh side, as it can be too easy to lose coins, but the original Mario Party is still a classic worth returning to. If you wish to replay it on the original console, though, do remember that there are several minigames that involve rolling the joystick, which can be extremely painful with the console’s unusual controller.

9 Mario Party 4

The Stamp Out minigame from Mario Party 4
  • Release Year: 2002
  • Platform: Nintendo GameCube

Mario Party 4, the first to appear on the Nintendo GameCube, takes everything that made the Nintendo 64 games fun and multiples it. Party Mode is at its finest, always giving friends and family many laughs. The minigames, fun boards, and overall presentation earn Mario Party 4 the title of being one of the greatest party games out there.

That being said, it doesn't provide many original ideas. The boards are all extremely standard in terms of themes and mechanics, and there isn’t much unique that’ll happen in each game since they’re deceptively small worlds. It’s a decent game, but it’s hardly the best Mario Party ever.

8 Mario Party 7

The unique linear Pagoda Peak map from Mario Party 7
  • Release Year: 2005
  • Platform: Nintendo GameCube

Mario Party 7 was the last Mario Party on the GameCube. There isn't much to say about this instalment mainly because it does little to differentiate itself from previous games, but it’s one of the biggest unexpected winners thanks to a marvelously high number of minigames. Like Mario Party 6, it uses the GameCube microphone, although for only a handful of minigames, this time around.

This was also the first Mario Party game to try new board mechanics, with one involving several shifting bridges in a canal while another is a linear climb up a mountain with branching paths. It’s a significantly more creative Mario Party than the originals, but its expansive list of unique mechanics can make it less appealing to major Mario Party fans of the classic games.

7 Mario Party 5

Wandering an underwater board in Mario Party 5
  • Release Year: 2003
  • Platform: Nintendo GameCube

Mario Party 5 was the second instalment on the GameCube, and it really doesn't change the formula. It’s best described as “more of the same”, and while it makes it a more dynamic experience than Mario Party 4, you definitely will feel a little underwhelmed if you were hoping for a huge upgrade.

Nonetheless, this consistency is a strength, and it’s probably the newest Mario Party game that classic fans are sure to feel at home in. The one new mode worth mentioning is Super Duel Mode, a strange motor derby mode where you could build weaponized cars, which was surprisingly fun but not the most deep side-game.

6 Mario Party 2

Pirate Land from Mario Party 2 featuring Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Yoshi
  • Release Year: 1999
  • Platform: Nintendo 64, Switch Online

A sequel is supposed to go bigger, and that's what Mario Party 2 does. It features fewer boards, but it makes up for that in having a cool addition by letting the characters dress up according to the boards' corresponding themes. This is a feature that has never returned, and considering the charm of the game’s unique fantasy settings, it’s sorely missed in every new Mario Party game.

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In terms of gameplay, Mario Party 2 adds to the original by featuring duel minigames and battle minigames for the first time, meaning there were far more ways to clash compared to its predecessor. This, alongside more items that can affect the board and your character more significantly, make it a much more memorable experience, and makes the original Mario Party feel somewhat dry.

5 Mario Party 6

Playing Jump the Gun in Mario Party 6
  • Release Year: 2004
  • Platform: Nintendo GameCube

Mario Party 6 is perhaps best known for its day and night system. Taking a page from Mario Party 2's Horror Land board, Mario Party 6's boards changes when the game switches to nighttime and vice versa every three turns, shifting pathways and opening up certain empty spaces to reveal new mechanics.

This is just the right amount of innovation for a simple Mario Party game, having the core gameplay of each board be identical while having semi-consistent events in each space. It’s undoubtedly the best GameCube Mario Party game. What's worth noting is that the game supports the GameCube microphone, and there's even a space dedicated to it. If no mic is plugged in, those spaces simply do nothing, which feels rather hollow.

4 Super Mario Party

Rolling the dice in Super Mario Party
  • Release Year: 2018
  • Platform: Nintendo Switch

After ten years after the last traditional Mario Party, fans were starting to get jaded by all of the gimmicks. The car didn't work, the handheld titles were lackluster, and the continued lack of online play was criminal on modern platforms. Thankfully, the reputation of this series was absolutely saved by Super Mario Party.

As it turned out, this would be the best Mario Party game in years and is undoubtedly one of the best options if you want a Mario Party game today. It brings back the chaotic, unfair fun that made the series so special in the first place. While light on boards, the game captures all the fun of classic titles while having the polish of the later GameCube ones.

3 Mario Party Superstars

Mario Party Superstars Peach's Birthday Cake Board from a sky view
  • Release Year: 2021
  • Platform: Nintendo Switch

In many ways, Mario Party Superstars is a love letter to the series as it includes minigames and boards from some of the classic titles. But it doesn't ignore its direct predecessor, as the game is very much a sequel to Super Mario Party.

The unique dice and buddies introduced in that game make it over to this one. And even the user interface is pretty much the same. This combination of old and new Mario Party works fantastically well here. Yet, Mario Party Superstars could've benefitted from more innovation.

2 Mario Party 8

Shake It Up from Mario Party 8, a great motion-control minigame
  • Release Year: 2007
  • Platform: Nintendo Wii

Mario Party 8 was released just six months after the Nintendo Wii launched. As one would expect, the game uses the Wii remote extensively. After all, with the Wii being the pioneer in motion control, it makes sense Nintendo would want to show it off as much as possible, but with Mario Party’s short minigames, it was definitely one of the best ways to use this console’s primary gimmick.

There are still a few minigames that just require buttons and the D-Pad to walk, but the motion games are varied enough to be a ton of fun and make each minigame feel different from the other. This game also has a good selection of boards with unique playstyles to keep it from feeling stale, such as a city where players invest coins into Hotels to earn and steal stars.

1 Mario Party 3

The start of a new map in Mario Party 3
  • Release Year: 2000
  • Platform: Nintendo 64, Switch Online (forthcoming)

Mario Party 3 was the last installment on the Nintendo 64, and it ended on one of the highest notes that a game series could ask for. It has both great boards akin to Mario Party 1 and awesome minigames akin to Mario Party 2. The best qualities of the first two games into one total package. Plus, with revamped visuals, it looks much better today than either predecessor.

This game also is the best to play with one other player, as it features a Duel Mode with its own unique party boards and a wide variety of two-player minigames. Mario Party 3 is considered underrated by most fans, but it’s got so many improved traits that simply make it the best Mario Party game in the entire series.

NEXT: Best Mario Games On Nintendo Switch (So Far), Ranked