Mario Party DS
The first Mario Party on a handheld — and the last to feature a dedicated Battle minigame category. With 73 minigames, 5 unique boards and full 4-player support from a single DS cartridge, it remains one of the most accessible multiplayer titles on the system.
Overview
Bowser reveals the Minimizer to shrink Mario and friends
The Story Mode board map — 5 boards to conquerMario Party DS is the first Mario Party for the Nintendo DS, bringing the classic board game formula to handheld for the first time. Up to four players roll dice, collect coins, purchase Stars and battle across five themed boards.
The headline feature is single-card multiplayer — all four players can join from just one DS cartridge. Minigames make full use of the DS touchscreen, microphone and dual screens throughout.
The story sees Bowser use the Minimizer to shrink Mario and friends. Players must conquer each board’s boss to progress and ultimately face Bowser at the end.
Gameplay
The Dice Block — rolls 1–10 each turn
The Item Shop — spend coins between turnsEach session runs 10, 15 or 20 turns. Players roll the Dice Block (1–10) to move. Blue Spaces give 3 coins, Red Spaces cost 3 coins, Star Spaces let you buy a Star for 20 coins. Most Stars at the end wins.
After every round a minigame triggers based on landing spaces — 1-vs-3, 2-vs-2, or free-for-all 4-player. Winners earn 10 coins. Story Mode sends players through all 5 boards in order, each ending with a boss minigame.
Playable Characters
There are 8 playable characters, each with unique item dice and their own team name pairings in Tag Battle mode.
Boards
There are 5 boards, each with a unique star-collection mechanic and a boss minigame at the end.
🌿 Wiggler’s Garden
🎵 Toadette’s Music Room
🗿 DK’s Stone Statue
📚 Kamek’s Library
🎳 Bowser’s Pinball Machine| Board | Host | Boss | Star Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🌿 Wiggler’s Garden | Wiggler | Piranha Plant | Star moves after each purchase — 20 coins |
| 🎵 Toadette’s Music Room | Toadette | Hammer Bro | Buy Stars with Music Notes for 5–30 coins |
| 🗿 DK’s Stone Statue | Diddy Kong | Dry Bones | Star always at top-left; buy as many as you can afford |
| 📚 Kamek’s Library | Kamek | Kamek | Three jars — one Star, one 5 coins, one warp to start |
| 🎳 Bowser’s Pinball Machine | Bowser | Bowser | Star moves after each purchase — 20 coins |
Minigames
Mario Party DS features 73 minigames across 7 categories — many use the touchscreen, microphone and dual screens. It is the last Mario Party to feature a dedicated Battle minigame category.
| Category | Count | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 4-Player | 32 | All players compete against each other |
| 1-vs-3 | 12 | One player takes on the other three |
| 2-vs-2 | 13 | Two teams of two compete head-to-head |
| Duel | 32 | One-on-one battles between two players |
| Battle | 5 | Pooled coins at stake — last in series |
| Boss | 5 | Cooperative battles against each board’s boss |
| Puzzle | 6 | Solo touchscreen and stylus-based puzzles |
Reception
Mario Party DS received mixed to positive reviews, praised as a strong improvement over Mario Party Advance and Mario Party 8. Single-card multiplayer, minigame variety and board design were highlighted; main criticisms were similarity to previous entries and no online play.
| Publication | Score | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| GameSpot (Frank Provo) | 8/10 | “An outright blast when played with other people” — praised multiplayer, boards and minigame variety |
| Metacritic | 72/100 | Generally positive — strong multiplayer and DS hardware use |
| GameRankings | 72.17% | Consistent with Metacritic aggregate |