If you didn’t know, the latest installment of the Mario Party franchise has just been released. It’s called the “Jamboree,” reflective of its ambitious nature of including several dozen minigames and more playable characters than ever before. 

For decades, Mario Party has been considered one of the most played party games of all time. There seems to be a little bit of something for everyone and it was made for the family.

As a new season of Mario Party adventuring begins, it is important that you don’t get left behind. If you’ve ever played any of the previous games, you probably know that the primary gamemode focuses on a board game with items and minigames. Minigames help players obtain coins in order to acquire stars, which are the win condition for the game. Depending on the board that you and your friends choose, there can be a lot of other factors that change the luck and progression of the overall game. 

If you’ve played Mario Party or even Mario Kart you are probably familiar with the idea that it “destroys relationships” as both are heavily focused on sabotaging your opponent. Items are the primary method of putting others down so that you can get ahead. For example, a switch item can be used to swap places with your opponent on the board, and a Chain Chomp Bell can be used to move the location of the current star. Even when playing minigames, a player can strategically sabotage their opponent so that they do worse.

The results of the minigames are certainly important. A lot of players who are serious about winning will practice the minigames ahead of time so they know how to effectively beat their opponents. Some minigames require a free-for-all, others in teams of two or even a one-versus-three format. Certain minigames have a coin-collecting element to inflate the pockets of all players and raise the stakes even more. If you’re truly evil, you can sabotage your teammates if the risk of losing isn’t harmful.

Typically, a star costs 20 coins and must be found on the board. The idea is to traverse the board and reach the star as fast as possible to obtain it. Once a star has been taken, a new one appears elsewhere on the map. 

Now the question is, are you partying right? While some people may enjoy this game for what it is, there will always be that one person who thinks in the fourth-dimension and absolutely must obtain victory at all costs. The glory of strategizing a game like Mario Party is unique because part of the victory is entirely up to chance and the game decides to be unfair.

Speaking of odds, they do not always have to be against you, the one who wants to win more than anything. For example, there is nothing stopping you from obtaining a custom dice block from the shop and then deliberately rolling next turn to a dueling space. Suddenly, you find yourself challenging another player. Possibly the one you fear is going to take your spot on the throne in a 1-on-1 where the stakes are your coin balances. You can certainly alter the results of the game with just one extra minigame round against a specific player.

Another option is to not let anyone get stars and to do absolutely whatever it takes to play keep-away. This can be done by repeatedly using the Chain Chomp Whistle, purposefully triggering the board events or constantly teleporting random players. Although such techniques can bite you back, they are very useful once you’ve already obtained the lead.

Take note of bonus stars at the end of a game. Players who use the most items, obtain the most coins and win the most minigames are all candidates for receiving bonus stars. That means performance and tactfulness really do matter more than just pure luck on the board.

The bottom line is to really think about your approach to a new game against your friends by considering your current position in the rankings. A lot of players focus too much on “doing their own thing” when instead they can be focusing on sabotaging others to minimize effort into obtaining more stars. Generally, this principle works well in board games and card games alike. The efforts of oneself are not as fruitful as the efforts of destroying others. 

I would not recommend these tactics in real life situations, unless you plan to become a supervillain one day.