5 Unique Tweaks to Make Your Next Mario Party More Exciting

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For almost thirty years, Mario Party has been a staple of Nintendo games, and the basic way you play has stayed largely the same. Each new version adds fresh items and boards, but you’ll still move around a board, compete in minigames, and collect stars. Adding your own custom rules can really shake things up and make any Mario Party game feel brand new.

Here are five creative ways players on Reddit have come up with to spice up their Mario Party games. These aren’t official rules the game recognizes, but they offer fun twists on the classic gameplay and can add a lot of variety to your next game night. Each one changes how the game is played, offering a fresh experience for long-time fans.

The Buddy System (1V1)

Playing “Buddy System” transforms a typical four-player Mario Party game into a more exciting and unpredictable contest for two players. At the start, each player selects a computer-controlled character as their “Buddy.” The goal isn’t to win personally, but to ensure your Buddy outperforms the other player’s CPU partner – that’s how you truly win the game.

This feature gives players a clear goal when using power-ups or playing against each other in mini-games – helping their partnered character win the most or collect the most stars. It also introduces a surprising new strategy: players might even need to hinder themselves or others to give a specific computer-controlled character an edge. Overall, it’s a unique mode that changes how you think about cooperation in Mario Party.

Richest Player (Coins Only)

Most Mario Party games are about collecting the most Stars, which you usually get by winning mini-games and buying them with coins. But in some games, the goal is simply to be the richest player. In these versions, Stars don’t matter – the winner is whoever has the most coins at the end.

This update highlights mini-games, as they’re still the main way players earn in-game currency. It also makes the blue and red spaces on the board much more important, particularly towards the end of the game when they significantly increase rewards or penalties. Players who found the quick shifts in rankings caused by star swaps and bonus stars frustrating might really enjoy this new system.

Golf Style (Lowest Score Wins)

Just like “Richest Player” changes how you usually play Mario Party, “Golf Style” creates a totally different experience. Instead of trying to collect the most stars and coins, you actually want to collect the least. There’s a catch, though: if you pass Toad, you have to buy a star if you can. The same goes for Boo – if you land on him with enough coins, you have to steal a star. Whoever ends the game with the fewest stars and coins wins!

This new mode turns the usual Mario Party gameplay on its head, encouraging players to seek out unlucky spaces, dodge stars, and even intentionally mess up in mini-games. It completely changes the role of the Bowser spaces, making them surprisingly valuable. If you want a truly unpredictable and chaotic Mario Party experience, this is the mode for you.

The King (1v3)

In Mario Party, a fun team-based option called “The King” mode lets three players team up against one other player. The team works together to earn more stars than the solo player, who is designated as “The King.” To make things a little fairer, The King starts the game with some free stars, giving them a head start.

“The King” mode changes how you play Mario Party, making it more about working together. It encourages players to team up during mini-games and think more carefully about where everyone is on the board. When one player becomes the King, it creates a fun shift in power, letting them use the game’s unpredictable elements to their benefit. It’s a smart addition because it promotes teamwork in a game that usually focuses on individual wins.

Season (Multiple Games)

To really change how people play Mario Party, consider letting them play through multiple boards as one continuous experience. Instead of starting fresh with each board, players could treat each one like a ’round’ in a larger game, carrying over their stars and coins. This ‘Season’ format would let them compete across several boards, and the winner would be the player with the most wins overall.

Playing a Mario Party “Season” is a fantastic way to minimize the frustration of bad luck, as it requires players to adapt to various game boards and unpredictable events. It also makes the game more interesting with shifting alliances – players who are losing might team up to take the lead, only to betray each other when they get the chance. This format extends the game’s replayability and lets players fully enjoy everything each Mario Party has to offer.

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2026-02-08 20:10