delivers the couch multiplayer experience the series is famous for with an awesome new layer of strategy, 80 mostly-great minigames, and the quirky tech of the Switch controllers to keep things feeling fresh.

is synonymous with strange burns in the centre of our palms and broken three-pronged controllers. Many hours were spent on the original N64 for versions of these games, often with friends or siblings.

Super Mario Party was an inevitable title for the Nintendo Switch. Since its inception on the Nintendo 64, the Mario Party series has been on every single Nintendo console and handheld ever since. It has even made appearances in Japanese arcades thanks to Capcom.

I've always measured Mario Party games by the tension it brings. The star stealing, the backstabbing, the teamwork, the fact that skill has nothing to do with whether you win or not. In Super Mario Party that returns, but it dials back the expletive-encouraging randomness considerably.

Wayne's World

Gloriously colourful; Plenty for all to do; Frantic friendly fun

Open boards feel unfair; Some duff minigames

Mario Party has never felt so at home on the Nintendo Switch

this game is good.

I'm currently unbeaten at Super Mario Party's titular mode. That isn't to say I'm particularly good at the Mario Party mode, which is ostensibly the title's main attraction. Mario Party sees you and three friends (or a combination of friends and AI players) stomping around a game board with the aim...

Shy Guy is great; Genuinely quite funny; Tons of content

It's a collection of minigames, so if you hate minigames.., Like, it's just minigames; That's it

Nintendo's virtual board game is revamped for the Switch, but are its charms just a little too simple to appeal to everyone

The back to basics approach works great and the new boards and mini-games are all cleverly designed and fun; Very little downtime, accessible controls, and plenty of extra modes

Could have done with more mini-games and boards; Reliance on luck will frustrate some players

If party-gaming is what you crave, Nintendo consoles have always been the best bet. The Wii captured the public imagination thanks to its party-gaming capabilities and, if anything, the Switch (at least on paper) has even better party-gaming credentials, thanks to its added portability.

Surprisingly innovative; Board game element more fiendish than ever; Excellent mix of co-operation and competitive play; Makes good use of Switch's unique attributes

Lacks structure when viewed purely as a game; Should include more Mario Party boards; Online play requires Nintendo Online subscription; Joy Con only