SUPER MARIO PARTY

Platform: Nintendo Switch Rating: G Verdict: Party on, Mario.

NINTENDO HAS always tried to differentiate each new instalment in the Mario Party franchise.

It’s great when it works, but over the past few years it’s fair to say the series has relied on too many gimmicks.

So, as a long-term fan, it’s pleasing to see

in Super Mario Party the gimmick is good. At its core, Mario Party is a board game and it feels as though Nintendo has finally gone back to its roots with this one.

The gimmick this time is that each playable character now has a regular dice to roll and also a special one, specific to them, giving them special advantages.

Mario, for example has a dice loaded with 3s, giving him a good chance of augmenting his regular roll with a 3, whereas someone like Donkey Kong has a dice loaded with 0s and a couple of huge 10s. The odds suggest he’s going nowhere but if he rolls a 10 he’ll surge ahead.

It’s an interesting and thematic new addition to the gameplay, but that’s not all. Scattered around the board are ally spaces, where you’ll recruit a character to assist you — giving you access to their dice — and help you in some mini games.

As well as the reinvigoration of the board game elements, there’s a whopping 80 new mini games to play though and battle on against your friends.

As always the mini games are well thought-out and a heap of fun.

The boards themselves are good, though there are only four to choose from. It would have been nice to see a few more. But all in all they are solid and layout is good.

By addressing problems in the past few iterations, Super Mario Party sees Nintendo’s social party game back on top.