Mario Party Superstars is the Nintendo Switch collection built around five remade Nintendo 64-era boards and 100 returning minigames from across the Mario Party series. This guide is only for Mario Party Superstars, not Super Mario Party, Super Mario Party Jamboree, Mario Party: The Top 100, or the original Nintendo 64 releases unless a board or minigame is present inside Superstars.
The game is rated Everyone with mild cartoon violence. Expect goofy slapstick, Star stealing, online interaction when you choose online modes, and optional shop-style progression, but the advice here stays focused on match strategy.
Essential Tips
1. Treat Every Turn as a Star Plan
Coins, items, and minigames only matter when they move you toward Stars.
Superstars is chaotic, but the win condition is still simple: finish with more Stars than everyone else. Before each roll, open the map, check the Star route, and decide whether you are buying a Star, blocking another player, building coins, or setting up a later item play.
2. Keep a 20-Coin Floor Near the Star
Reaching the Star without money wastes the best part of your route.
When the Star is close, treat 20 coins as reserved. Spending below that can be correct if a key item immediately wins the route, but casual shop buys or risky spaces should wait until after you secure the Star.
3. Save Beyond 20 When Boo Is Involved
A normal Star purchase is not the only coin threshold that matters.
Boo can steal coins for free or steal a Star for 50 coins when you have access through the board or a Boo Bell. If a rival is ahead and Boo is realistic, building to 50 coins can be stronger than spending every time you pass a shop.
4. Check the Board Before Using Speed
Double Dice, Triple Dice, and Mushrooms are strongest when counted, not guessed.
Extra movement can overshoot a junction, send you into Bowser trouble, or miss a shop if you roll blindly. Count spaces to the Star, Boo, gates, and risky events before committing a movement item.
5. Use Custom Dice for Exact Outcomes
The Custom Dice Block is a routing tool, not just a slow roll.
Use it to land on a Star route, avoid a bad space, reach Boo, enter a gate position, or trigger a helpful board event. It is especially valuable late, when one exact landing can matter more than raw distance.
6. Do Not Assume Original-Board Rules
These are remade boards inside Superstars, so play the version on your screen.
Yoshi’s Tropical Island, Space Land, Peach’s Birthday Cake, Woody Woods, and Horror Land come from the Nintendo 64 trilogy, but Superstars has its own item set, online support, button-control minigames, and modern settings. Use original-game memory only as a clue, then confirm the current board state.
7. Practice Minigames Before Coins Are at Stake
The game gives you time to learn, so take it.
The 100 minigames use button controls, but they still vary between races, timing tests, survival games, memory challenges, team roles, duels, and coin-collection rounds. Read the controls and use practice when available, especially online where a missed input can cost a full turn cycle.
8. Spend Shop Coins With a Job in Mind
Good items solve specific problems.
Buy Skeleton Keys when a gate matters, Chomp Calls when moving the Star hurts a leader, Plunder Chests when an opponent holds a dangerous item, and Golden Pipes when you can still afford the Star afterward. A full inventory of vague options is weaker than one item with a clear plan.
9. Keep Everyone Updated for Multiplayer
Local wireless and online sessions are smoother when every system is on the same version.
Before setting up Local Play or Online Play, make sure each console has the latest game update installed. The game shows the installed version on the title screen after updates are applied.
10. Pick the Right Multiplayer Type
Offline, Local Play, Friend Game, and Global Game have different limits.
One system can host up to four offline players. Local Play and Online Play with friends can allow multiple players on a system, while Global Game matchmaking only allows one player per system. Online play also needs Nintendo Switch Online and a game copy on each participating system.
Board Priorities
| Board Situation | Why It Matters | Beginner Habit |
|---|---|---|
| Star is nearby | Stars decide the match before coins | Stop casual spending below 20 coins |
| Boo is reachable | A 50-coin steal can flip the lead | Save with a target instead of buying filler |
| Gate is ahead | Skeleton Key can open better routes | Buy keys only when the gate helps now |
| Star is bad for you | Chomp Call can move the target | Use it to deny a leader or reset a lost route |
| Homestretch begins | Blue and Red Space coin values change | Protect your wallet more carefully late |
| Rival holds a key item | Plunder Chest or disruption can matter | Interrupt their plan before they act |
Each board asks for a different kind of attention. Space Land rewards timer awareness, Peach’s Birthday Cake punishes careless route commitment, Woody Woods can redirect movement, Horror Land changes Boo timing, and Yoshi’s Tropical Island asks you to watch Star and Bowser positions. Do not memorize only one route; read the board every round.
Item Planning
| Item | Best Beginner Use |
|---|---|
| Mushroom | Add 5 spaces when the count is favorable |
| Double Dice / Triple Dice | Cover distance to a Star, Boo, or shop |
| Custom Dice Block | Land exactly where the turn demands |
| Cursed Dice Block | Slow a rival or control your own short movement |
| Skeleton Key | Open a gate that improves your current route |
| Chomp Call | Move the Star when another player has the better path |
| Warp Block | Escape a bad location or gamble for better position |
| Golden Pipe | Warp to a Star while keeping 20 coins ready |
| Boo Bell | Convert a coin lead into a steal without reaching Boo |
| Plunder Chest | Take away a rival’s best item before it resolves |
Item value changes with turn count. Early, movement and route-building can become multiple Stars. Late, exact landing, denial, and immediate Star access are stronger.
Minigame Habits
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Read the win condition first: some games are races, some are survival, some are score attacks, and some pay based on collected coins.
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Notice the team split: 2-vs-2 and 1-vs-3 games reward role discipline more than frantic movement.
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Use button-control consistency: Superstars avoids motion-control assumptions, so focus on timing, rhythm, memorization, and clean stick movement.
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Protect coin leads in coin games: a coin minigame may matter even when nobody gets a simple first-place payout.
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Practice awkward games: a single unfamiliar minigame can erase the coin buffer you needed for a Star, Boo, or Golden Pipe.
Online and Setup Tips
For couch play, Offline Game is the cleanest option: up to four players can share one system with controllers connected locally. For nearby systems, use Local Play and make sure each system has the game and update ready. For online friends, use a Friend Game so the group can set rooms, passcodes, player counts, and voice chat through the Nintendo Switch App when desired.
Global Game is best when you want random online opponents, but it has a stricter one-player-per-system limit. That matters if two people in the same room want to join together. If your group has multiple players on one console, plan around Friend Game or local options instead of assuming random matchmaking will accept the whole couch.
The controller options are flexible: a single Joy-Con, two Joy-Con with grip, a Pro Controller, or the Switch Lite system can all fit the game. Choose the controller that gives each player the cleanest inputs.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Do not spend below 20 coins near the Star - You can reach the Star and fail to buy it.
- Do not use a Golden Pipe while broke - Warping is wasted if you cannot pay afterward.
- Do not ignore Boo’s 50-coin Star steal - A coin lead can become a direct scoreboard swing.
- Do not fire a Chomp Call without checking rivals - Moving the Star can help the wrong player.
- Do not roll speed items without counting spaces - Extra movement can skip the route you wanted.
- Do not treat remade boards as exact N64 copies - Superstars has its own item and mode context.
- Do not skip minigame practice - A few seconds of practice can protect an entire Star plan.
- Do not choose Global Game for a shared-console group - Random online play allows only one player per system.
Summary
| Category | Top Tip |
|---|---|
| Scope | Play by Superstars rules, not memories from other Mario Party games |
| Stars | Keep 20 coins ready before reaching the Star |
| Coins | Save to 50 when Boo can steal a Star |
| Items | Buy items that solve the current board problem |
| Boards | Recheck routes, gates, Boo, and Star position every turn |
| Minigames | Read controls and practice unfamiliar formats |
| Online | Match the mode to your player count and systems |
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8 checked for this guideEvery factual claim in this guide was checked against at least two independent sources before publication. These are the references used for Mario Party Superstars.
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