For decades now, Mario Party has remained the quintessential party game for gatherings with friends and family.
The series has been around since the late 1990s, and Nintendo continues to keep the franchise novel.
This includes new mini-games, board themes, game mechanics, and playable characters with each iteration. Their latest entry, Super Mario Party, was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2018.
To celebrate the series’ legacy of ruined friendships and engrossing mini-games, we’re highlighting the finest games like Mario Party to check out next time you’re at a social gathering.
Make sure to check back as we will be updating this list with new games. Also, while you’re here, consider reading through our other curated lists:
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Pummel Party
Developer: Rebuilt GamesrnrnPlatform: PC
Pummel Party is a lot like Mario Party but on steroids. The game is also much gloomier than Nintendo’s party series, depicting blood, gore and brutality, thanks to a variety of insane in-game items. Designed for local and online multiplayer, the game sees you and your friends exploring a range of game boards with unique hazards and unforeseen surprises.
Along the way, you’ll find lethal weapons, traps and power-ups that can be extremely useful for blowing away the competition. When you’re not attacking your friends on the game board, you’re facing off in chaotic mini-games partially inspired by the likes of Mario Party, along with some novel concepts.
For those pressed for time, Pummel Party includes a mini-game mode that skips all the tiresome board game sections and lets you jump straight into the thrilling action.
Jackbox Party Pack
Developer: Jackbox Games rnrnPlatforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
The Jackbox Party Pack games have silently become a staple for social gatherings, partially because they don’t require any additional peripherals and can be played entirely on smartphones.
This makes them an exceptional Mario Party substitute if you ever find yourself in a group larger than four, the limit for most local multiplayer games. Each Party Pack includes five separate bite-sized games designed to be replayed over and over again.
However, our favorite collection happens to be Jackbox Party Pack 4, which bundles together some of the greatest games in the series such as ‘Survive the Internet,’ in which players try to twist each other’s words to make absurd pairings. There’s also ‘Civic Doodle,’ in which two players draw the same piece of art in real time while everyone else judges their creations.
Marooners
Developer: M2H rnrnPlatforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Marooners is an excellent Mario Party alternative for anyone who doesn’t own a Nintendo console.
The game makes the wise decision to forgo all of the turn-based monotony that comes with rolling dice and watching your avatar move across a game board. Instead, you and your party are subjected to an onslaught of mini-game pandemonium with little to no breaks in between.
After selecting your avatars, you and up to six players are dropped down onto one of 25 possible initial arena maps where you’ll have to compete in a random mini-game while also collecting loot. At the end of each round, the game pulls the old switcheroo and transports you to another arena with a new mini-game.
Marooners also features an assortment of 60+ absurd weapons to unlock and use against your opponents as well as the ability to turn into a ghost upon death and haunt your comrades.
Party Panic
Developer: Everglow Interactive rnrnPlatform: PC
Party Panic is about as hectic as party games come, offering a wide selection of 30+ action-packed mini-games that will put you and your friends’ platforming abilities through the wringer.
Inspired by Mario Party, the game sees up to four players competing across a variety of modes, including a more traditional Board Game mode in addition to the Gauntlet, in which players race to complete a series of challenging physics-based mini-games in quick succession.
One moment you might be competing to collect the most gems, another moment chasing after exploding chickens. It’s a truly unpredictable party game that’s certain to have you and your friends on the edge of your seat yelling by the end of each round.
The better you play, the more XP you acquire, enabling you to access in-game treasure chests holding new outfits you can display on your character.
Headsnatchers
Developer: IguanaBee rnrnPlatforms: Switch, PC
Headsnatchers is a colorful-looking indie game that sees up to four players competing in explosive brawls where the goal is to physically snatch the other players’ heads and use them to score points across 25 mini-game maps.
Each map is based on a unique theme ranging from a basketball court to a medieval castle, and it introduces new regulations, obstacles and traps. Players can customize their character’s heads with over 100 different styles, making it feel that much more individual when your friend or family member decapitates you.
The game features four game modes, including Tornado, Tag Team, and a lone Zombie Castle mode. Lastly, Headsnatchers offers extensive controller support on PC.
1-2 Switch
Developer: Nintendo rnrnPlatform: Switch
Although it’s primarily just a test demo designed to show off the Switch’s new features, 1-2 Switch is still a pleasing party game that’s sure to appeal to more casual players. Just like 2018’s Super Mario Party, many of the mini-games in 1-2 Switch were designed around the Switch Joy-Con’s new ‘HD rumble’ feature, better known as haptic feedback.
This leads to additional conceptual mini-games that depend on instinct and bodily motion, which might be a deal-breaker for a few. There is also the matter of restricted multiplayer, as just two Joy-Con can be employed concurrently. Nevertheless, it’s an entertaining encounter that can keep guests active while also amused.
Smash Ultimate
Developer: Nintendo rnrnPlatform: Switch
Mario Party is all about competition and seeing how much you can annoy the other players without risking having a controller hurled at your head.
So why not channel that energy into another Nintendo game where their mascot characters duke it out for real. Smash Ultimate is excellent for any occasion, considering how uncomplicated it is to adjust the level of challenge based on who’s playing.
You could have a try at chaotic 4-player battles with environmental hazards turned on and a profusion of game-breaking items and power-ups, or play a more genuine game of 1v1 on Final Destination.
With a roster of 75 characters, a blend of stages and music pulled from so many different video game properties it’s hard to even keep track, Smash Ultimate is a massive fighting game with something to offer for every Nintendo fan.
Move Or Die
Developer: Those Awesome Guys rnrnPlatforms: PS4, PC
If you’re looking for a party game with plenty of minute-to-minute action and friendship ruining potential, Move or Die may be the right game for you. Built for local and online multiplayer, the game sees your group facing off in brutal platforming mini-games whose rules and mechanics change every 20 seconds.
There’s a surprising amount of mini-games, and the developer has continued to add more since the game’s 2016 release. This includes mini-games with simple rules like ‘Bomb Tag,’ as well as more challenging concepts like ‘Color Craze,’ in which players race to convert as many tiles as possible to their assigned color before the clock runs out.
Stikbold!
Developer: Game Swing rnrnPlatforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Stikbold! looks like it could have easily been a dodgeball mini-game included in any Mario Party game. In it, up to four players battle in quick-paced dodgeball matches set in a variety of questionable locations to host a game of dodgeball, such as a busy intersection, a stormy oil rig, a shark-infested beach or the inside of a fiery volcano.
Each map presents new game mechanics as well as hazards and traps intended to annoy players. The game gives you the option to dive deep into your amicable rivalries and break off into teams or just play free-for-all and watch the chaos unfold. It’s all evocative of classic arcade sports games where the goal was to just have fun.
Overcooked 2
Developers: Team17, Ghost Town Games rnrnPlatforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Alternatively, Overcooked 2 is a more modern take on cooking games that sets out to raise the stakes at every chance.
In it, up to four players are responsible for managing an assembly line of culinary duties in the hopes of getting as many plates out the door before time runs out. Each map is filled with numerous stations designated for various tasks like chopping, frying, boiling and plating, increasing in intricacy as more orders come in.
If that wasn’t enough, the sequel also adds the ability to throw ingredients at your fellow chefs from far away, giving you the ideal outlet for voicing your frustrations. If you’re looking for a rapid-paced game that will have you and your friends arguing as much as during the bonus star portion of Mario Party, this is the game for you.
Stick Fight: The Game
Developer: Landfall West rnrnPlatforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC. iOS
Based on the golden era of online stick figure games, Stick Fight is a 2D battleground fighter that will definitely make you and your pals laugh a lot while you fight with punches on perilous maps filled with weapons and physics-driven obstacles. Due to this, dying is not just swift but almost guaranteed if you don’t eliminate your adversaries beforehand.
You can blast enemies away with a laser gun, shoot a paralyzing snake at their neck, or simply hold on long enough to be the last stick standing. The game supports both online and local multiplayer for up to four players and includes over 100 distinct levels along with an extensive amount of community-made stages via Steam Workshop.
Save Your Nuts
Developer: Triple Scale Games rnrnPlatform: PC
While you won’t find any mustache-wearing plumbers in Save Your Nuts, the game includes a multitude of charming woodland creatures for you to play as, while competing in a mini-game tournament organized by squirrels. Some highlights include playable raccoons, beavers, dogs and the occasional armadillo.
The game leans heavily into its physics-based gameplay, offering an array of mini-games that see you attempting to collect as many nuts as you can before a timer reaches zero. Sometimes these nuts are on a verdant field, other times a frigid lake, and in some rare cases attached to a rocket.
While it can feel vigorous in a couple of areas, Save Your Nuts has the highest multiplayer cap on this list, supporting up to 8 players on a single screen.
Moving Out
Developer: Cellar Door Games rnrnPlatforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, iOS
Similar to Overcooked 2, Moving Out takes a traditional concept, moving furniture, and uses it as the starting point for frantic multiplayer action.
Categorized as a physics-based moving sim, the game sees you and up to four pals training to become Furniture Arrangement Relocation Technicians (F.A.R.T.s), highly unskilled movers with a talent for carelessly transporting furniture.
In addition to tricky controls, Moving Out tasks you with navigating demanding levels as you transport couches across a factory assembly line, a moving airplane and galactic meteors. Its heavily cooperative focused gameplay means you can expect to share plenty of laughs and disputes with your pals from start to finish.