Super Mario Party Jamboree is a fantastic entry in the long-running, family-friendly party game series.
After diving into all game modes and exploring each board, we’ve prepared our ultimate rankings for Super Mario Party Jamboree: board rankings from worst to best, as well as our top 10 minigames across all game modes.
Top 10 Minigames
Note: Listed in alphabetical order
Camera-Ready (4v4)
Camera-Ready is really two games in one: a look-and-find, and picture composition. By turning around a very active 360 degree scene, players quickly hunt for the chosen scene and snap the best picture. It’s a race that also requires a lot of skill, patience, and finesse. Plus, there’s a ton of variety in the scenes and picture options. Always a favorite.
Shadow Play (2v2)
A clever matching game that uses shadow objects. Teams must quickly search their dials for the right shape, which only creates the proper full shape when combined with their partner’s. There’s some real optical illusions hidden in there, especially for the first few times you play.
Spike’s Gambit (Koopathlon)
All the Koopathlon minigames feature solo players racing to collect the most coins. We appreciate the variety, but the simple 3D platforming of Spike’s Gambit is our favorite, as players grab coins along a sandy slope while dodging rolling logs.
Stamp Out! (4v4)
Stamp Out knows everybody loves Splatoon – a competitive painting race to blanket the space in your team’s color. Stamp Out uses some odd stamping-movement to quickly cover the sketch pad. It’s zany and hectic, and full of hilarious kingmaker possibilities as players gang up on the leader.
Tilt-a-Golf (4v4)
Tilt-a-Golf is easily our favorite motion game. The combination of tiny mini-golf putting courses with the classic wood Labyrinth marble game is completely delightful, as players work to quickly get the ball in the hole. Flicking the Joy-Con to get the ball out of the sand trap is also inspired.
Trading Cards (Kaboom Squad)
Our favorite minigame in Kaboom Squad is Trading Cards, where players must put the cards in the correct order by sliding them left and right. It takes advantage of the increased player count without being too complex or chaotic. We also love the steady increase in difficulty, from simple numbers all the way to complex panoramas.
Tricky Turntable (2v2)
Tricky Turntable may be the best minigame on this list for determining if new players are going to like or loathe Mario Party. It’s a complete mind game as teams of players have a single button and only a few seconds to determine which position to be on, and how far the coins or bombs turn. Much second-guessing, yelling, and forehead slapping will ensue (but hopefully no hard feelings).
Unfriendly Flying Object (1v3)
Our favorite 1v3 game pits the solo player in charge of dropping spiked platforms, while the other three avoid getting squished. This minigame plays with physics in some fun ways, as platforms can drop at angles and even flip over, creating strips of spikes! It’s equally fun for both sides, even if the solo player can dominate if they really know what they’re doing.
Waluigi’s Pinball Arcade showdown (Showdown)
It’s almost cheating to include Waluigi’s Showdown minigame, because it’s literally just pinball. But pinball is great! With four bumpers, unlimited balls, and lots of combos and item opportunities, Waluigi has put together a pretty impressive Pinball machine. And despite my best efforts, I’ve yet to beat my family’s high scores!
Yoshi’s Mountain Race (Showdown)
Yoshi’s Mountain Race is a good old fashioned 3D platformer, with a tightly compact path around a circular mountain. Riding atop their own Yoshi, players can use the dinosaurs signature stutter-float to jump, and eat fruits to speed ahead while avoiding enemies and completing jumps. We wish more minigames leaned into simple, platforming fun.
Jamboree Board Rankings
7. Mario’s Rainbow Castle
The first unlockable board from Super Mario Party Jamboree is unfortunately the weakest. Mario’s Rainbow Castle, originally from the first Super Mario Party, is a tiny board with a super annoying twist: the end either leads to Toad, and a star, or Bowser, and a bad effect. There’s only two ways to swap them: someone activates one of them, or someone lands on one of the swap spaces scattered throughout the board. It’s very frustrating to head towards Bowser without many options to change course, and there’s little decision making when it comes to pathing. We’d be happy never playing this board again!
6. Mega Wiggler’s Tree Party
Every Mario Party game needs a beginner, simple board that doesn’t have too much going on. In Jamboree, that dubious honor falls to Mega Wigglers Tree Party. Mega Wiggler acts as an alternate shortcut through the middle of the board, but his positioning can change from landing on bell spaces or using the bell item. There’s nothing wrong with the board, but it’s not terribly exciting, and not a board we’d choose over any of the others below.
5. Roll ’em Raceway
A nod to Mario Kart, Roll ’em Raceway puts each player in a kart as they race around the circular track. There are only a few branching path decisions to choose, mostly when it comes to which lane the star is spawning in: which is only ever one of two spaces. The track is quite long, but players have more access to movement items, including the Raceway’s signature quadruple Turbo Dice. It’s an interesting idea, but we prefer tighter boards with more interactivity. Plus, the jump pads are annoying at skipping valuable item shops and Boo stops.
4. Western Land
Returning from Mario Party 2, Western Land has a fun theme and a train track the encircles the board. Players can ride the train, get bumped by the train, or summon the train to various stations. Players can purchase skeleton keys to get around the middle part of the board, and avoid the chaos of the train. Plus, we like the distribution of stars across the map. While occasionally frustrating, Western Land is still a great board for newcomers and veterans alike.
3. Goomba Lagoon
Visually, Goomba Lagoon may be our favorite board, with zip-lines over water, a pirate ship, and a Goomba-shaped volcano. Players must deal with high tide at regular intervals, which eliminates many spaces and paths, and may trap players on tiny circular islands. We don’t want to spoil what happens when a player reaches the volcano, but it’s certainly appropriate to Mario Party’s cheeky chaos.
2. King Bowser’s Keep
The final unlockable board, which should take players several hours of Mario Party matches, is King Bowser’s Keep. The 5-star rated difficulty mostly stems from Bowser’s Byway, a square-shaped path where Imposter Bowser drops more and more nasty Bowser Spaces. Players can accidentally (or purposefully) swap the direction of the byway, creating some last-minute saves and spoils, and trapping low-rolling players. On the other hand, the Keep features an unlockable vault where Bowser stores his ill-gotten gains (like Monopoly Free Parking), allowing one lucky player to win big. A very fun board, but we might caution against it when playing with younger kids.
1. Rainbow Galleria
Our favorite board in Super Mario Jamboree is the Rainbow Galleria. The Galleria is a three-story mall with several branching paths, escalators, and an elevator. Players can grab stamps from various locations and turn them in for a big payday, and enjoy half-off items during the Flash Sale events. We love the compact design that leads to lots of interactivity, the focus on items, and the ease in which players can reach stars. Plus, who doesn’t want to spend time in an adorable mall filled with Mario characters?
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