Playing Mario Party Alone Is Fun

Mario Party has always been infuriating. It’s a series all about random dice rolls, bad luck and hijinks. Like the Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart games, Mario Party wants everyone to suffer and succeed at different intervals. They’re not meant to be taken seriously, even though they are taken very seriously. But at the end of each session, you still have your friends, who endured as much pain as you had, who sat through as much bullshit as you did.

By contrast, Mario Party is much more mellow when playing alone. When something bad happens to a human player, their anger lingers. They remember when one player stole a star from another, and they go into the game with plans of how to steal from their friends. But computer players groan at their own misfortune for only a moment before moving on. It’s honestly refreshing to see the characters so carefree. They jump for joy when they get a star, they’ll kick the ground when they lose one, but nothing within them changes. There’s no chair flinging or cursing, and even though that’s become what Mario Party is about, I also find pleasure in the times when the game is a little more quiet, when the stakes are extremely low.

Playing Mario Party alone can give off a negative connotation. Playing other party games alone, like Guitar Hero or Just Dance, can be viewed as a way to improve a score or certain skills. Mario Party only requires skill in its mini-games, and even those aren’t always decided by a player’s ability. So playing alone can be viewed as sad or lonely.

I’m sure for some there is some truth to that. But for others, like myself, playing through a board with my Nintendo friends is just a chill way to play an otherwise chaotic game. Super Mario Party almost feels like the cheeriest of games. Whereas previous versions tried to create a sense of togetherness by trapping all the characters in a car, Super Mario Party rewards players with extra coins if they high-five each other. When a cheery, blue toad asks me to high-five my AI buddies, it asks me if I feel closer to them, and the answer is always yes. That’s what Super Mario Party means to me: it might seem like a competition needs others, but making friends can be just as good if they’re the digital kind.