Mario’s latest party is incredibly easy to recommend

Tom’s Guide Verdict

Super Mario Party Jamboree is the latest entry in the Mario Party series to come to the Nintendo Switch. This beloved party game series is all about multiplayer fun, combining a classic board game with a bunch of zany, fast-paced mini-games. Players compete to win the most stars, whether they earn them the honest way or steal them off their competitors after a lucky dice roll.

In Super Mario Party Jamboree there are no big shake-ups to the series’ usual formula, but there’s arguably no need for them. Jamboree provides an overall great game experience and more of what fans already love. Excellent visuals and performance come along for the ride, too. Keep reading for my full Super Mario Party Jamboree review.

Super Mario Party Jamboree: The Basics

• What is it? Super Mario Party Jamboree is a party game for Nintendo Switch. Players roll dice to move across spaces on the in-game board, racing to collect the most coins and stars. Mini-games are interspersed with the board game segments — play well in these and you’ll gain an advantage on the board, earning more coins and items to give you the upper hand.
• Who is it for? Super Mario Party Jamboree is best played in groups, whether with friends or family, online or in person. It’s a solid choice for a family game night.
• What’s the price? A standard copy of Super Mario Party Jamboree costs $59/£49/AU$79.
• What other games has the developer made? Super Mario Party Jamboree was developed by Nintendo Cube, a smaller team within Nintendo. Nintendo Cube has developed several previous entries in the Mario Party series, starting with Mario Party 9 on Nintendo Wii. They’ve also worked on the multiplayer party game Everybody 1-2 Switch and Animal Crossing’s mobile spin-off, Animal Crossing Pocket Camp.
• What games is this similar to? Super Mario Party Jamboree is not a massive departure from the games before it in the Mario Party series. It also shares similarities with other multiplayer party games like Overcooked or WarioWare: Move It, tasking you with either working with or competing against other players in mini-games.

Getting the party started

In Super Mario Party Jamboree, you’ll roll a dice to move spaces across a virtual game board. Each player takes turns doing this, trying to get the closest to a star placed on the board. After everyone has had a turn, a mini-game will start — involving anything from working with a partner to steer a cart, to spotting the odd one out in a series of pictures. If you win a mini-game, you’ll earn more coins, which can be used to purchase a star once you reach the correct space. The winner is the player who has the most stars at the end of the game.

I found the board game segment to be excellent in this version of Mario Party. The minimum amount of turns you can set is 10, which takes around 90 minutes to play through. A 10-turn game is a good meaty experience, giving you time to get a proper rivalry going with fellow players as you battle to obtain the most stars and coins.

You have the choice to play friendly or ruthless — land on the right space on the board and you’ll have the opportunity to either steal your friends’ stuff or just leave them be. This allows you to cater the experience to the people you’re playing with. The difficulty score assigned to each board also helps with this — the easier boards send you around in a loop, while tougher ones have more branching paths, routes locked behind keys and tricky traps.

As for the mini-games, there are plenty of them in Super Mario Party Jamboree — over 100, in fact, and the majority of them are good fun. With games based on skill, reaction time, memorization and solving puzzles, I’m confident that any player would be good at at least something on offer here. If you play video games a lot, you’ll have an advantage when it comes to games based on maneuvering your character, like obstacle courses and races. However, there’s a random element involved in most of them that keeps things competitive enough. Not every mini-game is great — some are solely based on luck, and these feel pleasant if you win but annoying if you lose. But the mini-games are all fast-paced, varied and feel (mostly) balanced overall.

Belle of the ball

The presentation in this version of Mario Party is nothing short of fantastic. Playing on the base Nintendo Switch model, the visuals look excellent in both docked and handheld mode with sharp textures and beautifully bright colors. Each board and mini-game transports you to a different area of the Mushroom Kingdom with a range of exciting color palettes and small details that are fun to notice. I also appreciated how the animations kept the tone light-hearted. Getting your stars taken by a rival can sting, but at least your character’s over-the-top reactions give you something to laugh about as you commiserate.

The soundtrack has a lot going for it, too. There are plenty of toe tappers and the tracks keep the energy up which is perfect for a party game. Plus, most of the tracks are played by a full orchestra, which gives a beautiful, full-bodied sound.

Party poopers

I find it odd that you have to set aside 90 minutes at minimum for a round of Mario Party. There are other game modes included that take less time to get through, but as the core Mario Party offering is the most fleshed-out mode in Super Mario Party Jamboree, an option for a frantic 5-turn game would have made sense.

In addition, Super Mario Party is well-known as a family game franchise, but I don’t think it can be played by a group of total beginners. At least one person needs to know how to hold the controllers correctly and what buttons do what, because if not, there’s a decent chance you’ll get lost trying to navigate all the menus. On the other hand, each mini-game has a practice segment to get used to the controls before starting, which is extremely helpful for newbies.

I also had a few slight issues with using the Nintendo Switch’s different kinds of controllers. The game automatically disconnected my Pro Controller while I was trying to set up a round of Mario Party with motion control mini-games — I didn’t initially realize you could only use Joy-Con controllers for this mode. After my Pro Controller refused to reconnect (even to back out and cancel the motion control mini-games,) I had to sequester a Joy-Con off another player… only to then be booted back to the main menu, forcing me to go back and set everything up again. This was irritating for everyone involved and didn’t set a good precedent before the party started. Moral of the story — if you want to play with motion control mini-games enabled, make sure you have enough Joy-Cons for everyone connected.

Afterparty

There are several other experiences to try out when you’ve had enough of Mario Party’s main mode. My eye was immediately drawn to Rhythm Kitchen — this is a quick-fire rhythm game mode that takes about 15 minutes to play, making it a good alternative if you don’t have time for a full round of Mario Party. You need to keep to the beat while performing simple actions with the Joy-Con controllers to prepare food. I loved the delicious-looking visuals and catchy music. However, be wary that you don’t get a chance to practice the mini-games before they start, and you need to quickly move into different positions on the fly to keep up. If you know what you’re doing, it’s great fun for a few rounds.

I tried the Koopathlon mode next. This is sort of like a battle royale mode — one person per console competes with 19 other players online, trying to earn the most coins by doing well at mini-games. I had fun with this one, as it felt satisfying to win a shower of coins and top the leaderboard. However, the same few mini-games kept repeating in my playthrough which made me wish there was more variety. Plus, if you get behind the pack it doesn’t feel like there are enough ways to turn the odds back in your favor.

Paratroopa Flight School feels like an idea that could be fleshed out into a full Nintendo Switch game, but as it exists in Super Mario Party Jamboree, it’s half-baked. You control your character by flapping your arms to gain height and tilting your body to steer. I couldn’t play this for more than a few minutes before I was tired out. There is a fun mode where you have to pick up passengers, steer carefully and drop them off in the right place, but I wish there was an option for button controls.

As for Toad’s Factory, you need to raise, lower and tilt platforms using your Joy-Con controllers to maneuver capsules across the factory to the goal. This mode is pretty finicky and a little boring.

Party Planner Trek has a pretty niche appeal, but I loved it. It’s a super chill way for a single player to get used to Super Mario Party Jamboree, as you’re set free to explore the main game’s boards and mini-games at your own pace. Unlike in the usual Mario Party mode, you can walk back and forth as you wish and retry the mini-games as many times as you want. There are even bosses to beat, and playing well means you can unlock decorations to use in the Party Plaza (the game’s menu/hub area.)

Last up is my favorite, Bowser Kaboom Squad. This is another one-player-per-console mode. You’ll rush around a city, looking for crates full of explosives with a group of seven teammates. However, Bowser and his minions will be in hot pursuit trying to stop you in your tracks. You need to transport the bombs safely back to the canon, load them up and fire to take out chunks of Bowser’s health. Every now and then, a mini-game will start, and if your team performs well in these, you’ll get better items to give you the upper hand in the city segment. This is a super addictive mode that feels highly dependent on teamwork and skill, and I couldn’t stop playing it. The only problem is, if you don’t have a Nintendo Switch Online membership, you’ll need to either play with a group of friends who all have their own consoles or deal with the game’s lackluster AI-controlled teammates who often ignore your calls for help.

Super Mario Party Jamboree review: Verdict

Super Mario Party Jamboree does exactly what it needs to do. It provides more boards, mini-games and characters without making any gimmicky adjustments to the series’ formula. As long as you’re not expecting the reinvention of the wheel, you’ll be pleased by what Super Mario Party Jamboree has to offer.

There are some minor problems to be aware of — this is not a game for a group consisting of total beginners, and you’ll need to set aside a decent chunk of time to play a full round. However, Super Mario Party Jamboree’s satisfying gameplay and excellent visuals make it a worthy addition to any Switch owner’s collection.