Mario Party 6 is a video game developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube in 2004. It's the sixth installment in the Mario Party series.
The sun, Brighton, and the moon, Twila, love to host parties for Mario and the gang. One day, however, a trivial discussion on who is more popular cracks their friendship, leading to an imbalance between light and darkness. Mario thus comes up with a solution: get enough Stars via partying to fill the Star Bank so the two celestial bodies can stop fighting.
This game's theme is "day and night", in an expansion of the gimmick for Horror Land in Mario Party 2. The boards alternate between the two periods of time every three turns, leading to a multitude of effects on the game. The board's layout will change, certain events and spaces will be altered, the way to obtain the Star might be modified, and the minigames you play will be affected aesthetically and sometimes mechanically. The board's host will also rotate between Brighton and Twila to match the current game state. Unlike its three most immediate predecessors, the game lacks a Story Mode, and is also the first installment since the original to lack any sort of boss battle.note However, it does feature a Solo Mode where the player has to complete a special challenge in three boards that are tailored exclusively to said mode.
This game is unique for being embedded with an additional accessory, the Microphone. This gray-colored tool is plugged through the second Memory Card slot, and allows a player to say words during certain activities (such as a quiz mode, minigames where saying a word will trigger an action or effect, or a mode where a Star has to be taken to the end); the words will only be registered if the Mic's blue button is being pressed, this is done to prevent registering accidentally a word at the wrong time (also, the words must be said in English). Another novelty is that the method of earning Stars isn't the same in all boards: While two of them retain the classic objective of getting to the Star, buying it for 20 coins and then looking for the next one which will be placed randomly elsewhere, the other boards mix it up by changing the way the Star is obtained. In one board, you may need to chase Donkey Kong (or let him approach you) to buy a Star from him, while in another the Star will be always in the same spot but its price can change. Lastly, while the Capsules (now called Orbs) from Mario Party 5 return, they work a bit differently here: They can now be purchased from shops (which were previously absent) in addition to being found along the way, landing onto a space marked with one's own previously-thrown Orb is now safe, and it's no longer necessary to pay for their use. All these major novelties (gameplay involving the Mic, boards with unique Star collection methods and the revamped Orb usage) are carried over to Mario Party 7.
On the technical side of things, this game supports the Progressive Scan mode of the GameCube, which the previous two games on the system lacked.
As a final side note, this game marks the debut of Toadette in the series. Accordingly, before playing as her, you'll have to unlock her first.
This game provides examples of:
- Alliterative Name: The minigames Freeze Frame, Granite Getaway, Tricky Tires, Treasure Trawlers, Lift Leapers, Blooper Scooper, Pokey Punch-out, Garden Grab, Pixel Perfect, Gondola Glide, Body Builder, Rocky Road, and Mass Meteor. There's also the boards Towering Treetop and Clockwork Castle.
- Arboreal Abode: The board Towering Treetop takes place around a large, sentient tree, and wooden houses are located around the top; the paths go through the branches and canopies of the large tree, as well as a few other erected trunks. One of the upper paths can be crossed during day thanks to an open pink flower that acts as a trampoline, while another upper path is impassable due to a purple flower being closed (thus only allowing access to a nearby lower path); the flowers swap states during night, with the pink flower closing and only allowing access to a lower path, and the purple one opening and giving a bounce to its upper path. Other features include a flower house from which a player can ride a fluff for free if they land onto the Event Space at the front, a beehive whose swarm will sting the player (making them lose coins) if they land on any of the surrounding Event Spaces, a spot from which the player can make the big tree sneeze and make all players located in the upper parts fall down due to the resulting shake, and most notably the presence of Woody (during day) and Evil Woody (during night), both of Mario Party 3 fame.
- Asteroid Thicket:
- The minigame Mass Meteor has two dueling characters race against each other through an asteroid cluster in outer space. They have to swim between the asteroids (Batman Can Breathe in Space applies here) and avoid clashing against them (as doing so leaves them stunned for a long time). Interestingly, some of the asteroids are shaped like Koopa Shells. Whoever reaches the goal first wins; but if both reach there at the same time, the minigame will end in a tie.
- The minigame Asteroad Rage has two dueling characters driving their spaceships across an asteroid-filled path that leads to Saturn. The characters have to avoid the asteroids along the way while they drive. Whoever gets hit by one of them will lose and render the other player victorious; but if both are hit at the same time or manage to survive during 30 seconds, the minigame ends in a tie.
- Betting Mini-Game: There's an event of this type in Faire Square that takes place in a large slot machine shaped like a treasure chest. A character can pay a small sum of money (5 coins during day, or 10 during night) to try their luck. If they can match three identical objects, they'll win a number of coins that will depend on the object they chained.
- Big Boo's Haunt:
- The board Faire Square is, by Mario standards, a unique portrayal of this trope. Instead of relying on classical spooky elements like Boos or other form of Defanged Horrors, Faire Square is a relatively mundane rural town built in the skies with subtle Halloween motifs (think of a seemingly-peaceful town in a movie that hides a dark secret). Some of the houses in the board (and all of those in the distant background) have ceilings whose tops make them look like witch hats; and landing onto an Event Space in front of a lone hut will make a broom appear to take the player onto a random location. Entering into either Event Space in front of a library at the top right will force the player to get in... and somehow end up reappearing at the start of the board. There are also gambling-related activities, whose outcomes change depending on whether it's day or night. Most intriguingly, the Star is always put for sale in the plaza at the center, and you can buy more than one (up to five, in fact) if you have enough money to do so. The catch? While the price for each Star is 20 coins during day (the seller is Brighton), it can change between up to four possible prices (5, 10, 30 or 40) during night, due to Twila being the seller during those hours and deciding the price with a Dice Block.
- Several minigames take place in a more traditional haunted setting, namely a spooky forest with trees that have glowing eyes; and in most such minigames the players move within an outdoors hall with candles and other objects, so it's strongly hinted that this forest and the associated halls and plazas are located close to the implicitly-spooky Faire Square. Logically, all these minigames are exclusive to nighttime turns in Party Mode.
- Big Fancy Castle: Clockwork Castle, the sixth and final board combines this with Clockworks Area. By Day, Donkey Kong walks around the board, and by Night, Bowser walks around it. The goal is to chase Donkey Kong down so you can collect stars from him, but avoid Bowser, lest he take your stars away. One of the gimmicks of the board is that you can find a switch that changes the gameplay from Day to Night or vice-versa.
- Blackout Basement:
- The aptly-named minigame Light Up My Night puts two dueling characters in a deep-dark outdoors hall in the midst of a forest at late night. Each character carries a torch lit by a chimney, and has to light up five candles before the other player does (there are nine candles, so a tie isn't possible).
- The minigame Dark 'n' Crispy has all characters trapped in a barely-lighted vault with Bowser harassing them. The only sources of light are four luminous orbs in the walls and the stage lights keeping track of the characters. Bowser, who is purposedly in the dark, exhales fire to attempt to eliminate the players during 30 seconds. Whoever survives during that time will avoid his punishment.
- Bladder of Steel: The game has Endurance Alley mode, in which the objective is to win 100 mini-games in a row - without save points. However, it is much easier if you have only unlocked a few mini-games.
- Blow You Away: The minigame Light Breeze has two teams of players attempt to bring wind to eolic turbines by rapidly waving fans in front of them so they can restore the electrical power of a village in a coast that is suffering a blackout during night. The first duo to complete their turbine's energy gauge wins.
- Cartoon Bomb: A curious case not involving Bob-ombs. The minigame Strawberry Shortfuse puts all players in a baking kitchen run by Ukikis. Five Ukikis have in their dishes cake pieces, while the other five have round bombs with a star-shaped mark (similar to that of the Luxo Balls). They will then cover their dishes' contents and move around the whole area to rearrange their positions. Each character, one by one, has to choose an Ukiki to receive the contents of its dish: If it's a cake, good for both; if it's a bomb, it'll explode and eliminate the player. If all five Ukikis with cakes are chosen and there's more than one player left, then all Ukikis will refill their dishes and shuffle their positions again to repeat the process until only one player remains and is declared the winner. If more than one player survives after three full rounds, they will win.
- Circling Birdies: The minigame Dizzy Rotisserie has all characters be freed from rapidly-spinning cages, remaining dizzy as a result and having stars orbiting their heads. They have to move into the dungeon's exit in 30 seconds or less (the dizziness alters the control scheme, so this is easier said than done), or else the Bowser statues will begin exhaling fire while rotating, roasting whoever remains.
- Clockworks Area:
- One of the mini-games is "Cog Jog", where two players have to travel across spinning gears to get to the goal within the time limit. Falling off sends the player back to start, and the Thwomp in the middle changes the direction of the gears.
- Clockwork Castle, the sixth and final board of the game mixes this with Big Fancy Castle. By Day, Donkey Kong walks around the board, and by Night, Bowser walks around it. The goal is to chase Donkey Kong down so you can collect stars from him, but avoid Bowser, lest he take your stars away. One of the gimmicks of the board is that you can find a switch that changes the gameplay from Day to Night or vice-versa.
- Coconut Meets Cranium: Played with in the minigame Banana Shake. The players have to shake the banana trees to make their fruit fall down, but it's not them which can hit and stun the characters, but the hammers that were somehow placed in the treetops. The shake is done by repeatedly tapping A, while the evasion is done by pressing B.
- Collection Sidequest: The pages of the Miracle Books. They can be purchased in the Star Bank for varying Star prices, and getting them will show pop-up drawings of characters playing certain minigames. Purchasing all the pages is necessary to complete the game, as it will motivate Brighton and Twila to stop fighting (since the stars you use to pay for the pages are bought from them in the Party Mode sessions).
- Console Cameo: A GameCube can be seen in one of the warehouse crates in the southwest side of E. Gadd's Garage, and two can be seen stacked in the Orb shops in any board.
- Cool Garage: One of the boards in the game is E. Gadd's Garage, named after the Gadgeteer Genius who has stocked it with teleporters, conveyor belts, and other such gadgets.
- Death Course:
- The minigame Lift Leapers has all characters race through a prolonged obstacle course based on moving platforms above pits. The course is divided into four segments, and each player transitions between them via Warp Pipes. Whoever makes it to the end first wins.
- The minigame Cog Jog has two dueling characters race through a large machinery area across rotating cogs to reach the other side. The cogs spin quite fast, so timing the jumps will be key to win here.
- Disney Villain Death: This is the fate of the player character in the Thirsty Gulch single-player board if one manages to roll enough to walk past the Goal/Rare Mini-Game space that is the last space on the board. They'll step onto a rock platform that crumbles under their feet and drops them into a canyon river; the camera cuts off here.
- Dual-World Gameplay: The game's main gimmick is the day/night cycle, due to which the boards have some of their main features remixed or altered depending on the current time. Several minigames undergo changes (whether aesthetically or mechanically) this way as well, and some can only be accessible during a specific time.
- Energy Weapon: The minigame Ray Of Fright has a character operating a two-sided laser cannon, while the other three characters are around them. The objective for the solo player is to shoot slow-moving beams from both sides of the cannon to hit the other characters; for extra help, the two beams can ricochet from the borders' walls. The solo player wins if they manage to hit all three rivals, but the trio will win instead if at least one of them survives during 30 seconds.
- Eternal Engine: E. Gadd's Garage. This board takes place inside a large, thriving laboratory run by Professor E. Gadd, being filled with pumps, pipes, warehouse crates and even a rocket. There's a conveyor belt that transports a character to another part of the board if they land onto a nearby Event Space (they can get coins during the ride). There are also teleporters shaped like E. Gadd's head; landing upon a nearby Event Space makes E. Gad himself appear, asking the player if they want to use the teleporter to travel instantly to another (the link across the three teleporters is counterclockwise). There's a large fan in the northwest area that allows a player, upon landing onto its Event Space, to suck coins from the other players (who can attempt to damp the coin loss, not unlike when they did the same against Boo in the first four Mario Party games). A large shuffle machine shaped like E. Gadd's head is located at the east, and landing upon one of its two Event Spaces allows the player to take all orbs from every player and turn them into other Orbs (during day) or into coins (during night). Lastly, the circular junction at the center rotates clockwise once every day/night transition, thus changing the direction you'll go to when you get there.
- Excuse Plot: You must stop the sun and the moon from fighting by... uh... partying? According to this game, yes.
- The Face of the Sun: Brighton is the smiling, largely friendly version. Partnered with Twila.
- First-Person Snapshooter: The minigame Freeze Frame puts all players in a town inhabited by Goombas. The camera's perspective is the POV of the characters' cameras, and the objective for each is to take a picture showing as many Goombas as possible, though that's easier said than done due to how many Goombas are seen at a given time (and the shot must be taken in 10 seconds or less). If the minigame is played during day, a player will receive extra points if the picture they take shows a Shy Guy; during night, the extra points are given by having a UFO shown. The character with the highest score wins, but it's possible to have more than one player win is they share the highest score.
- Floating Continent: The board Clockwork Castle takes place in a large citadel suspended in the cloudy skies, and is divided into four distinct areas: The courtyard at the south, Twila's airship at the west, Brighton's temple at the east, and the eponymous castle at the north. This is by far the most time-sensitive board in the game: During day, players move across the paths in clockwise order, Brighton will give gifts to whoever lands on his Event Space in the temple, and Donkey Kong will move in each turn like the other players would, selling Stars to whom he reaches along the way (and to those who reach him while he's resting in his current space). During night, players move across the board counterclockwise, Twila gives gifts to whoever lands on her Event Space in the airship, and Bowser will replace DK and move in each turn like any player, giving Ztars to whoever he finds along the way (and to any unfortunate player who reaches to him while he's resting on his current position). The availability of the Warp Pipes located in the courtyard and the castle also changes depending on the current time.
- Ghost Invasion: In the minigame "Boo'd Off The Stage", two dueling characters are placed in an outdoors hall in the midst of a haunted forest during late night. Several Pink Boos begin hovering through the hall, attempting to grab the players, and sometimes the Boos will split their rows to cover a wider area (and potentially fool a player into thinking that only one Pink Boo is coming from a specific angle). Whoever gets captured by the Boos loses and the other player wins; but if both are captured at the same time or both of them resist during 30 seconds, then the minigame ends in a tie.
- Ghost Leg Lottery: The minigame "Pier Factor" has the 4 players enter one of 5 barrels each. The chosen barrels then proceed to roll down the paths simultaneously. If two barrels try to enter the same bridge then they bump against each other.
- Gimmick Level: Mario Party 6 is the first game in the series to feature boards with unique methods to obtain Stars. The first two boards (Towering Treetop and E. Gadd's Garage) retain the classic concept of getting to the Star to buy it and having the next one placed randomly in another part, but the next ones toy with it:
- Faire Square has the Stars always available in the central plaza, and it's possible to buy more than one (up to five) if the player has enough money to do so. However, while the price for each Star remains the same during day (30 coins), during night their price is chosen randomly with a dice (this is because Brighton sells the Stars during day and puts the same price, while Twila sells them during night and uses the dice to change the price).
- Snowflake Lake gives each player five Stars from the start, and there are no spots within to buy more. Instead, each player can use Chain Chomps to ride them across the board and steal a Star from any approached rival by stomping onto them.
- Castaway Bay uses a mildly updated version of a gimmick seen in Mario's Rainbow Castle from the original Mario Party. Sailing the waters surrounded by the board's islands are two boats: One piloted by Donkey Kong and the other by Bowser. If the player reaches the end of the last island when DK is around, he'll sell a Star for 20 Coins; if it's Bowser who is nearby, he'll give them a Ztar which reduces the number of Stars by one.
- Clockwork Castle has Donkey Kong move across the board like the other players do during day, as has Bowser replace him during night. If the gorilla reaches a player (or is reached by them), he can sell them a Star for 20 Coins; but if it's the case of the Koopa King whom a players comes across, he'll give them a Ztar.
- Green Hill Zone: Towering Treetop is set around a large anthropomorphic tree in a large green pasture, complete with honeybees, frogs on lily pads, and various other woodland creatures appearing as scenery. Woody and Warukio from 3 also return as an integral board element here, and they alternate with each other every three turns.
- Ground Pound:
- In the minigame Pop Star, three characters have to fill up a balloon with as much air as possible until it explodes, and do so by repeatedly pounding the pumps they stand on. The solo player has the same objective, but relies on using a hammer instead.
- The minigame Pixel Perfect has two teams of characters competing in a matching challenge. The screen at the center will show a pixelated image and then zoom it, making it so some pixels are dark green and the others are bright green, and the objective for each team is to ground-pound the tiles in their area to swap their colors so they match the pixel pattern shown. The team that manages to do this first will earn a point, and the next zoomed area of the image is shown; if no team does the match in 20 seconds, then the zoomed part of the image is replaced by another regardless. The first team to score two points wins; but if neither team manages to do so after five rounds, the minigame ends in a tie.
- The minigame Smashdance has all the characters use this move to stomp crystal tiles whenever these glow. Each stomp is worth one point, but it will only count before the tile's glow fades out completely. The character who scores the highest after 30 seconds wins.
- The minigame O-Zone has two dueling characters perform ground pounds onto orange-colored tiles in a factory to unveil red O's. Some of the tiles may instead have a blue X, and it will electrocute and briefly stun the character who unveils it. Other tiles have nothing drawn, and thus have no effect whatsoever. The character who stomps three tiles with red circles first wins.
- Herding Mission: The minigame Boonanza has two dueling characters lure several small Pink Boos into designated grassy corrals. Though the corrals remain open, the Pink Boss taken there won't escape, so the job isn't as complicated as it sounds. After 20 seconds, or if no Pink Boos remain in the central area, whoever has the most in their corral wins. If both players have the same amount, the minigame ends in a tie.
- Humongous Mecha: The Mic minigame Verbal Assault has one player pilot a large mechanical vessel moving forward with two wind propellers in the sides and shaped in the center like Bowser's shell. The other three players are chasing them with smaller vehicles that move with legs instead of wheels. The solo player's vessel is equipped with two flamethrowers, two powerful laser cannons, and a battle craft that can unleash Goombas, extend a claw that shoots a Bullet Bill, shoot six missiles in a spread formation, and toss numerous bombs that leave fire debris upon exploding. Each player from the rival trio has 3 HP, so the solo player needs to hit them thrice each to eliminate them and win the minigame. The rival players, meanwhile, have to shoot white energy beams to hit the six energy supplies (three in each side) that power up the vessel to disable it and win the minigame.
- Hostile Show Takeover: The minigame mode "Speak Up" has a tendency to be taken over by Bowser at the half-way point.
- Incredible Shrinking Man: The 1-vs-3 minigame "Crate and Peril" has the solo player suck the trio into a crate they're holding, shrinking them in the process. The minigame has the solo player tilt the box in an attempt to slide Spiny shells into the three of them, while the trio's goal is to survive until the 30 seconds are up.
- Inconveniently-Placed Conveyor Belt: The minigame Conveyor Bolt plays it straight during day, and averts it during night. During day, one player is using a hovering cloud chariot to drop lightning bolts onto the other three players, who must not only keep an eye on them to avoid electrocution, but also the incoming spikes that are protruding from the floor... which in turn is moving to the left because it's a a large conveyor belt. During night, the conveyor belt is turned off and stands still, but now the solo player must avoid the lightning bolts dropped by the other three players from their respective cloud chariots.
- Indy Escape: The minigame Granite Getaway has all characters run away from a large brown rock that is rolling onto them in a dark cave. They must keep an eye on the small rocks and debris in the ground to avoid tripping, and at one point they have to run across a bridge while avoiding falling into the pit from either side. The characters who make it to the end (a goal with a big star drawn in the floor, behind which lies a wooden floor that breaks when the boulder rolls there, falling down) win; if all characters get crushed by the boulder, the minigame ends in a tie.
- Inevitable Waterfall: The minigame Daft Rafts starts with all four characters trying to cross a bridge over a river, then the bridge breaks and they fall onto a series of rafts that are being dragged by the river into a waterfall. The objective, thus, is to jump onto the incoming rafts (and other objects like trunks, sideway-moving wooden platforms and the like) to run against the direction of the river to avoid falling onto the abyss. Some of the objects have Spinies (if it's day) or Lava Bubbles (if it's night) boarding it, which must be avoided as well. When only one character remains, the minigame ends and that player wins; but if the last remaining characters fall down (or touch the enemies) at the same time, then the minigame ends in a tie.
- Interface Screw: This pops up in the minigame Bowser minigame Dizzy Rotisserie. Players are initially encased in hanging jails that spin rapidly, and then are freed in a dizzy state. They have to get out of the dungeon before time runs out so the Bowser statues don't burn them with fire, but the controls are reversed due to the characters still being dizzy.
- In-Universe Game Clock: The game employs a turn-based day-and-night system for all its boards. Every 3 turns, the time of day changes. Depending on the time of day, certain routes will become available or unavailable, prices at stores change, and some board events will be different. Even some of the minigames will have altered aesthetics and/or gameplay.
- Jet Pack: The minigame Lunar-tics has two dueling characters land slowly into a pad installed in the moon. Each character has a pair of jetpacks so they can slow down their descent (by pressing or holding the A button), because the goal is to touch the landing pad as closely to 0:00 in the countdown as possible. The key here is to maneuver with the falling speed with the jetpacks to measure the best moment to land. It's actually possible for one or both characters to land past 0:00, hence why the proximity to that instant is judged by the absolute value of the instant when a character lands onto the pad. Whoever lands on the instant closer to 0:00 (be it before or after it passes) wins, but if both characters land on the exact same instant, the minigame ends in a tie.
- Jump Rope Blunders: The minigame Burnstile has two teams of characters standing respectively on two solid platforms (one red and one blue) while a spiky turnstile spins. The objective is to jump to avoid bring hit by the turnstile, and the players must also avoid falling onto the surrounding lava. The turnstile will gradually increase its speed as it turns, making it increasingly difficult to time the jumps. The first team to lose both players will lose, rendering the other the winner.
- Lethal Lava Land: The solo board Infernal Tower takes place in a large tower that Bowser built in the midst of a sea of lava. The objective is to land onto the last standard space, which can be found at the top of the tower; if the player moves past that space, they'll reach a balcony that traps them into a jail, making Bowser appear to take them captive with his Koopa Clown Car, which makes the player lose the game.
- Level in the Clouds: The minigame What Goes Up puts all characters in a cloudy sky. The objective of the minigame depends on the current time: If it's day, then they have to hop upward between winged Paratroopas to see who reaches higher after 30 seconds. If it's night, they have to fall down from the top to a cloudy platform at the bottom (clashing against a Paratroopa will slow down the fall and waste previous time).
- Luck-Based Mission:
- The minigame Pitifall has two dueling characters choose between three tightropes, and only one of them will be able to take its character into a safe platform, while the other two lead to a pit. If neither character chooses the right tightrope, they will both fall down, but then a Fly Guy will rescue one of them at random and declare them the winner.
- In the minigame Mass Meteor, if both characters reach the goal at the same, the game just decides who won at random. This would get fixed in Mario Party Superstars, as it now properly ends in a tie there.
- Mad Marble Maze: The minigame Crate And Peril has one player open a magical paperboard box that shrinks the other three players and suck them into its contents (four equitably-placed wooden fences and two Spiny shells). Then, when the minigame begins, the solo player proceeds to tilt the box so the Spiny shells move and attempt to pinch the other three characters, eliminating them upon contact. The solo player wins if they succeed in the objective, but the rival trio will win if at least one of them manages to survive during 30 seconds.
- Male Sun, Female Moon: Twila (female moon) and Brighton (male sun) take the forms of wizard-like creatures with the moon and sun as their heads. They get turned into She's a Man in Japan in the German version of the game, because, as mentioned below, the German word for sun is feminine and the one for moon masculine, which means Brighton and Twila swap genders as well.
- Mechanical Insects: The battle mini-game "Insectiride" has players control four different bug-like vehicles, each with their own button mechanic.
- Mini-Mecha: The minigame Cannonball Fun has all the characters pilot war machines that shoot cannonballs from, well, cannons (one in each side). When a character manages to land a shot onto any other, they briefly incapacitate them and earn one point. The first character to score five points wins.
- Nice Day, Deadly Night: The game has an In-Universe Game Clock, where every three turns, the gameplay switches from day to night and vice-versa. By day, Donkey Kong is out, and by night, Bowser is out. By day, landing on a DK space will give you a special bonus or allow you to play a mini-game where you can earn extra coins, but by night, these become Bowser spaces. Landing on one will cause Bowser to take away your star or coins or make you play a mini-game where you have to win in order to keep your coins. In the final board, Clockwork Castle, Donkey Kong walks around the board by day, and Bowser walks around it by night. Donkey Kong will give you a star for 20 coins if you come across him, but Bowser will take away your star or coins if you come across him.
- Night and Day Duo: Brighton and Twila, your hosts in the game, have a clear sun and moon motif, respectively. Brighton has a sun head and Twila a moon head, and they turn the board to either day or night, respectively, after three turns each time. They also get into an argument over which of them is more brilliant.
- Ominous Fog: The minigame Something's Amist pits two dueling characters in a foggy area surrounded by trees with glowing eyes in the midst of a forest during late night. The objective is to gather gemstones placed in the floor, which cannot be seen due to the fog's extreme density. Whoever manages to scoop three gemstones first wins; but if neither manages to do so after five minutes, the minigame ends in a tie.
- Oxygen Meter: The minigame Sink Or Swim has three characters swim in the waters of a flowery lake while the fourth player is standing on the surface to drop mines onto them to try to eliminate them. Each of the swimming players has a heart-shaped gauge that will deplete the longer they spend underwater; rather than drowning, they'll automatically rise to the surface to breathe anew once their oxygen depletes completely, making them easier targets for the solo player. The solo player wins if they manage to hit all the other three with the mines; however, if at least one swimming player survives during 30 seconds, then the trio wins.
- Palette Swap: Since the white Boo is playable in this game (and became so since the previous one), Pink Boo appears to play the former's role as the stealer of coins and Stars.
- Palmtree Panic: The board Castaway Bay takes place in a sunny archipelago that consists of three islands: One at the west with a grassy coast and a pier that extends to the southwest (in fact, that pier marks the starting point for the players), one at the north that is a rocky mountain with a big green faucet serving as the source of water for its river, and one at the east that is a wide grassland with some stone ruins and a lighthouse. The maritime area at the center has a small islet that is being surrounded by a riverboat run by DK and a battleship run by Bowser. Once a player travels through the three islands, they have to reach the Star Space in a pier that is west of the third island, and here come the big twist of the board: If DK has his riverboat docked in the pier, the gorilla will sell the player a Star for 20 coins, and take them back to the start of the board to repeat the cycle. If it's Bowser's battleship that is docked, then the evil Koopa King will give them a Ztar (which reduces the Star count by one) or take away 20 coins if the player has no Stars to begin with.
- Pinball Zone: The minigame Ball Dozers puts one player in a gigantic pinball board with a small ball, while the other three players are placed in another with a big ball; both boards have plenty of small rocks that are obstructing the balls, so the objective is to use hammers to crush those rocks in order to clear the balls' paths into the goal. The solo player has to remove more balls due to working alone, but the ball's small size allows it to squeeze through narrow areas between rocks; meanwhile, the big ball moves slowly and requires the removal of more rocks to proceed, so the three players responsible for it have to team up to remove multiple rocks at the same time. In the end, the minigame is fairly balanced for both factions.
- Pop Quiz: The special mode Speak Up, hosted jointly by Brighton and Twila. It makes use of the embedded Mic, and can only be played by human players, so at least two have to be present to properly enjoy this mode. Each contestant chooses a question category: Picture, Counting, Memory, Comparison, and Variety; they then answer a question to score points, but must do so quickly as the number of points the question is worth will decrease over time. If the answer is wrong, then another player can snatch the chance to give the right one. The number of stars in the columns' top indicates the question's difficulty, ranging from one to five. Once a question passes, its specific category and difficulty are marked in the grid of the quiz table, so whoever chooses that category again will have to tackle the next tier; the harder the question is, the more points it's worth. Sometimes Bowser appears to hijack the contest, punishing players who answer incorrectly the questions. At the end of the event, whoever scored the highest will win a trophy.
- Pungeon Master: The minigame Seer Terror has a basic premise of "Pull the rope, something happens, Bowser makes a bad pun out of it". He has nearly half an hour's worth of them, for reference.
- Quip to Black: "Seer Terror", an unlockable minigame, consists almost entirely of Bowser making bad things happen to you and making witty remarks in the guise of fortunes. "You'll feel crushed by stress!" he'll say after you're crushed by a Thwomp.
- Racing Minigame:
- The minigame Gondola Glide has two teams of characters ride gondola lifts across a cableway that goes through various biomes. In each section, they have to repeatedly tap a specific button: A in the spring landscapes, and B in the autumn ones. The first duo to reach the goal (which takes place in a winter area) wins, but if neither of them manages to get there after five minutes, the minigame ends in a tie.
- The minigame Tricky Tires has all four characters drive six-wheeled vehicles across a temple filled with several obstacles (Thwomps that attempt to crush the drivers, Whomps that attempt to obstruct the way, pillars in front of lava pits, and rotating toll booth bars). Each driver has to coordinate the movement of the left tires (with the Control Stick) and the right ones (with the C Stick) to properly drive. The character who reaches the goal first wins.
- The minigame Rocky Road is a special case. Here, two teams of characters are helping a driver (a Shy Guy) reach a destination; the problem is that the road (which goes through the edge of a hill facing a coast) is filled with boulders, so when they approach one or more the driver has to stop and the escorting duo has to destroy the obstruction with punches and kicks (friendly fire applies here, so if one player hits the other they'll stun them and waste precious time). With the boulders(s) demolished, the two characters hop on the car and the driver resumes the trip until the next boulder(s) approach, repeating the process. The duo that manages to help their driver reach the destination first wins.
- The minigame Throw Me A Bone has all characters ride Chain Chomps in a rocky desert, and the objective for each player is to guide their Chain Chomp to the goal by throwing bones at the floor. There are many tall rocks and pillars along the way, and clashing into one will stun both the Chomp and the player temporarily, making them waste precious time. Whoever reaches the goal first wins.
- The minigame Full Tilt has two dueling characters race through a mechanical course that tilts periodically (hence the minigame's Punny Name). If a player falls down, Lakitu will put them back to the course but time will be wasted (luckily, the bridge at the middle acts as a checkpoint). Whoever makes it to the goal first wins.
- Regional Bonus: The Endurance Alley mode, wherein a player has to try and beat as many consecutive randomly-selected minigames in a row without losing, was altered for the European/Australian release to avoid having any purely luck-based games get picked. This avoids the frustrating scenario of having a player fail this mode simply because luck wasn't on their side rather than due to skill. The North American release inexplicably did not receive this upgrade for unknown reasons.
- Remilitarized Zone: The minigame Shoot Yer Mouth Off puts three characters encased in a street that has been taken over by Banzai Bills, Bob-ombs and Thwomps. The fourth player can input commands (namely say numbers with the Mic) to order the Shy Guys to unleash the mooks that are waiting in line to attack the others. If the fourth player manages to eliminate all three players, they'll win; but if at least one player from the trio manages to survive during 60 seconds, then the trio wins.
- Rhyming Names: The minigames Talkie Walkie, Word Herd, Slot Trot, Hyper Sniper, and Cog Jog. There's also the boards Faire Square, Snowflake Lake, and Castaway Bay.
- Roaring Rapids:
- The minigame Cash Flow has all characters ride across wide slides in the coast where water is flowing, and along the way they can gather coins and coin bags. One player is riding alone in a slide while driving a Koopa shell, while the other three characters are riding together in another slide, swimming on their own. Along the way, they must avoid Spiny shells (the solo player is only stunned for a brief while, but if any of the other three is hit then they'll be eliminated).
- The minigame Wrasslin' Rapids has all characters fighting against each other in a square-shaped raft that starts travelling through an underground river, which includes a large skeletal fossil whose bones begin falling one by one; the raft then reaches the cave's exit to reach a jungle, and keeps traversing the river while several Ukikis throw spiky fruits onto the players, and then it reaches a section next to a rail path traversed by a train whose passengers (Shy Guys) shoot projectiles from the wagons' cannons onto the players. Neither the punches from the players nor the external hazards are lethal, but whoever gets hit will be stunned; being thrown into the water will result in elimination, however. The last player standing in the raft wins, though it's possible for more than one to win of they make it to the end of the raft's ride.
- Secret Character: Toadette, who can be unlocked for all modes by paying 30 Stars in the Star Bank.
- Seesaw Catapult: The minigame Cashapult has two teams of characters use a catapult to grab coins suspended in the skies. In each team, one character lands onto their side of the seesaw to boost the other skyward and help them seize the coins; the latter character then lands onto their side of the seesaw so the former goes up and grab some more, and so on until each character is launched twice.
- She's a Man in Japan: Brighton is female and Twila is male in German versions of the game while in every other language it's the reverse. This is because, unlike in most languages with grammatical gender, the sun uses feminine pronouns and the moon uses masculine pronouns in German.
- Shifting Sand Land:
- The solo board Thirsty Gulch takes place in a scorched mesa in the midst of a sandy canyon, and has many cacti along the way. The objective is to land onto the space that is located at the end of the path to win the challenge and receive a rare minigame as a reward. But if they move past that space, they'll reach an edge and make it crumble, falling onto a river and losing the game.
- The minigame Pokey Punch-out takes place in a sandy desert with ruins (including a pyramid in the background). The characters have to use punches and kickes to take down the Pokeys that pop up from the ground. Each spherical segment of a Pokey grants one point upon being hit. The character with the highest score after 30 seconds wins.
- Shock and Awe: The minigame Circuit Maximus has all characters traverse an octagonal circuit where many Amps roam. Being touched by one of them will electrocute the character and leave them stunned, wasting time. Whoever gets past all the Amps and completes the route first wins; if five minutes pass and nobody has managed to reach the end, the minigame ends in a tie.
- Shooting Gallery:
- The minigame Stage Fright features three characters standing on platforms that can only move sideways through color-coded rails (red, green and blue, aligned one in front of another), while the solo player is in a target area. The objective for the tio is to shoot balls onto the solo player, and they only need to hit them once to win; while the solo player has to avoid all shot balls for 30 seconds to win instead. If a player behind another hits them accidentally, the victim will be stunned for a brief while.
- The minigame Jump The Gun pits two pairs of characters in a target practice area in the skies, namely one where the targets are glued into a waving line. In each team, one player shoots Bullet Bills into the targets, so these serve as platforms for the other player to jump onto and move forward. If the latter player falls down, a Lakitu will spend some time bringing them back up and putting them in the last Bullet Bill they stood on. Whichever player reaches the goal first will grant victory for themselves and their partner.
- The minigame Hyper Sniper has all characters use rubber ball guns to shoot circular targets that pass by with a wall that is scrolling downward. The numbers marked by the targets tell how many points they're worth, and the higher the number is the smaller the target will be; there are also targets that portray Bowser's icon, and shooting them will take away all the points scored by the unfortunate player who hit it. Whoever scores the highest after 30 seconds wins.
- Shout-Out:
- The sun and moon are fighting.
- One minigame titled Granite Getaway involves players running away from a giant boulder.
- The DK minigame Tally Me Banana is named after a line from the song Day-O Banana Boat by Harry Belafonte.
- "Simon Says" Mini-Game: The minigame Control Schtick has all characters standing on hovering platforms while looking at a special screen managed by two Goombas. The screen shows a glove-wearing hand counting down from three before showing two arrows, indicating the directions they must follow with their hands (which wear orange gloves) to show a specific pose; the player tilts the standard Control Stick to respond to the arrow from the left side, and the yellow C Stick to respond to the arrow from the right side. As time passes, the countdown will pass faster and the instructed directions will require being followed more quickly, leading eventually to a player either moving at the wrong directions or not reacting quickly enough, resulting in their elimination. The last player remaining wins, but if at any point all characters fail, they'll be eliminated and the minigames will end in a tie.
- Slippy-Slidey Ice World: Snowflake Lake. This board takes place in an idyllic snowy village during Christmas. All the walkable paths take place in frozen water, and there are snowmen, igloos and trees of different colors (red, yellow, green) covered in snow, as well as a ski lift at the northeast. There's even a statue of Mario encased in a chunk of ice. During day, all paths are accessible for the players, but during night some of them will be blocked by Freezies which cannot be removed. The ice rink at the center hosts an event that changes depending on the current time (getting coins from Brighton while skating during day, and having all players play Snowball Fight during night). The most unique trait of the board, however, is that there are no Stars to buy; instead, all players start with five Stars each (more if the handicap feature is being used), and each player has to pay upon reaching a doghouse to ride a Chain Chomp and have them steal Stars to the other players along the way.
- Solar and Lunar: The hosts of the game are Brighton and Twila, anthropomorphized versions of the Sun and Moon, and their motifs tie in to the game's day-and-night theme.
- Snowball Fight:
- A board-specific mini-game in Snowflake Lake involves the players tossing snowballs at each other, causing them to lose their coins, which the other players can then collect within the time limit.
- The 1 vs. 3 minigame Snow Brawl pits the solo player and four AI allies against the team of three in a what is essentially a snowy dodgeball match. Anyone who gets hit immediately turns into a Human Popsicle and is eliminated. While the solo player's team has the greater numbers, the opposing team wins as soon as the solo player is eliminated, while all three of the opposing team must be eliminated for the solo player to win.
- Space Zone: The solo board Astro Avenue takes place in outer space, beginning in a planetoid that resembles Earth, going through other planets as well as space vessels, and ending in a stop station. The objective is to land onto the space before that stop station, because if the player gets into that dead-end, a spaceship will come to drive onto the player, leaving them stranded in space and losing the game.
- Sphere Factor: The DK minigame Pier Factor has all characters get inside barrels and begin rolling across color-coded piers, with white-colored detours that connect them. Along the way, they can get bananas (both single and bunches) that are later traded for coins (how many per banana is determined by a wheel prior to the minigame). If two players clash in a detour, they'll resume their original paths.
- Strawberry Shorthand: Subverted with the minigame "Strawberry Shortfuse." The kitchen it's set in has a cute pastel color scheme, but the premise, in typical Mario Party cartoon violence, is to not get blown up.
- Styrofoam Rocks: The rocks in Rocky Road are less than convincing. They shake like they are attached to springs, get a dent as you punch them and have sounds more fitting papier-mache.
- Teleportation: The minigame T Minus Five puts two dueling characters in a station installed in the moon. The goal is to reach a rocket to lift off, and the only thing separating each of them is five yellow-colored teleport platforms. They begin to glow green one by one in succession, and each character has to Ground Pound theirs in the exact moment it's glowing so they can teleport to the next yellow platform in the row (if a character flubs the timing of their stomp, they'll be electrocuted and waste precious time). For each step a character manages to make upon teleoprting, the green glow in their glow will pass faster and faster, requiring a better timing to land the stomps in the exact moment. Whoever manages to teleport to the rocket's entrance door first wins.
- Temporary Platform: The Mic minigame Fruit Talktail has three characters standing on hexagon-shaped platforms that have fruit figures drawn in them. The fourth player is placed in the background, and has the objective of mentioning (with the Mic) fruits to command the lowering of the unmentioned ones' associated platforms (for example, saying "Apple" will make the platforms marked with the other fruits (grapes, strawberries, melons, bananas and oranges) descend. The players who fail to stand on a safe platform when the others begin to lower will fall down into the pit, being eliminated as a result. The solo player wins if all other three players fall down, but the rival trio will win instead if at least one of them survives during 60 seconds (72 in the game's European version thanks to that release's 50Hz signal compared to the other releases' 60).
- Tin-Can Robot: The minigame Body Builder has two teams of characters assemble a robot of this type in a factory. The parts used to assemble the robots are provided by a machine, but their pictures pass by like a slot machine, and each team's players have to press switches right when the glowing picture is spot on (as it indicates the next part to be extracted to build the robot). The player on the left has to extract the feet and torso, while the on the right has to extract the legs and head. The first team to assemble their robot wins; but if both manage to assemble them at the same time, the minigame ends in a tie.
- The Trees Have Faces: Several minigames take place in a haunted forest close to a town plaza (implied to be part of Faire Square), and the dark trees have glowing eyes. Their most notable role is played in the minigame Trick or Tree, where four trees of varying heights will begin switching their positions rapidly, and it's not possible to tell where the tallest one will remain after the minigame begins (since the camera will only show their heights before they move); therefore, the two dueling characters have to choose each one tree to climb and hope it to be taller. Each character has only 10 seconds to choose, and whoever climbs a tree whose top is higher than the other's will win.
- The Triple: The minigame Odd Card Out has all players participate in a spot-the-difference contest. Three cards showing the same mook (Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Piranha Plant, Shy Guy or Bob-omb) will be displayed, but in one of them the mook will show something different (for example, if the cards show a Koopa Troopa, then maybe one of them will have its eyes or mouth open, or its shell will be red instead of green). Each card can be selected with a specific button, and the first character to press the button corresponding to the different card will earn a point; the next three cards with a different mook are then shown and the process is repeated. If a player chooses a wrong option, then a Thwomp will crush them, making them lose the next round. Whoever scores two points first wins, but if nobody manages to do so after ten rounds the minigame will end in a tie.
- Unrealistic Black Hole: The aptly-named minigame Black Hole Boogie features two dueling characters close to a black hole that begins to drag them and is already swallowing meteors. The objective of the minigame is to mash A in order to swim away from a black hole. The loser gets sucked in, but then the black hole disappears, and they can be seen floating across the screen in the background after the minigame has ended. In case both players get sucked in at the same time, the minigame ends in a tie.
- Vehicular Combat: The minigame Sumo Of Doom-o pits two dueling characters in a battlefield inside a factory, with them driving six-wheeled cars and clashing against each other to see who pushes who into the abyss. The catch is that, periodically, the Thwomp who is watching them from the distance will stomp its floor, causing the players' battling ground to crumble and lose a part of its area; this will reduce the playable area, making it more likely for either player to knock off the other (or simply fall down accidentally, rendering the other player victorious). The last player standing wins, but if both manage to endure for 30 seconds or both fall down at the same time, the minigame ends in a tie.
- Whack-a-Monster: The minigame Mole It! has two teams of characters hit Monty Moles that pop out of Warp Pipes (Piranha Plants pop out as well, but they must be avoided as they'll stun the players upon contact). During day, the Monty Moles appear in upper-placed pipes, so the characters have to hit them with their heads. During night, the pipes are placed in the ground, so the players have to stomp the Monty Moles instead. Hitting a gold-colored Mole grants three points instead of one. Whichever team scores the highest after 30 seconds wins.
- Wintry Auroral Sky: The minigame Snow Whirled takes place in a snowy ramp where each character has to perform spin tricks with their snowboards (by pressing buttons in a specific order) to earn score points. During night, the sky shows a beautiful auroral pattern colored pink, green and a small stripe of orange and another of blue. Averted during day, when the sky only shows a few clouds.
- X-Ray Vision: The minigame Money Belt (renamed X-Ray Payday in Mario Party Superstars, to prevent confusion with the similarly-named, and also present in that game, Money Belts from Mario Party 4) has all players stand in the sides of conveyor belts where various boxes are being scanned through X-Ray screens and then transported forward. The objective is to open the boxes that have coins or coin bags within, making sure to memorize the contents scanned by the screens. If a player opens a box having a boxing glove, they'll be hit and stunned; and if they one containing a Bob-omb, they'll be hit and stunned for longer.
- Youkai: Two living snow rabbits inhabit the area of Snowflake Lake along with some living snowmen and sapient penguins.
