The 10 Best Mario Party Boards of All Time

While the minigames tend to get the spotlight more, the Mario Party series’ boards are the first thing players likely think about when they see one of the games on a shelf or are looking for something to play with lots of friends. There are great boards and awful ones, but Mario Party has survived and endured because of the very best ones that fans latch onto. This article lists the 10 best Mario Party boards of all time in the franchise.

Related: The 10 best Mario Party minigames of all time

The 10 Best Mario Party Board Levels of All Time

Below, we’ve listed the 10 best board levels in the Mario Party franchise, not ranked in any particular order because they’re all the best out of a series that spans 18 games. Many fans have their favorite entry, but each one has its merits and garnered a fierce group of dedicated players around the time of its launch, meaning no board is off limits from being a part of this list.

1) Faire Square

Faire Square is a Mario Party 6 board playing off of the “fair and square” saying. A Happening Space on this board can cost players if they’re unlucky, making for some dramatic moments. During the day, everyone pays 10 coins, and the winner decides which chimney the tallest plant will grow from. At night time, the cost for all players is a Star. Multiple instances of chance on this board can leave players rolling out in front with many Stars or crawling, hoping, and begging for scraps. It’s the kind of randomness that has made Mario Party such a beloved series.

2) Goomba’s Greedy Gala

Goomba’s Greedy Gala is a Mario Party 4 board that, like Faire Square, revolves around chance with its casino setting. There are various casino games dotted around the board, like a roulette wheel that decides a player’s direction, dice games, and slot machines. The theme of this board is well represented here and will have all players laughing and yelling at each other. Mario Party is at its most fun when the game of chance plays a role in the outcome but doesn’t outright decide who wins. This board epitomizes that theme and is so much more enjoyable.

3) Horror Land

Horror Land is an original Mario Party 2 board that returned in Superstars. The map has players exploring a cemetery filled with multiple Boo locations, one of them being King Boo, who can steal one star from each of the other contestants in the game if the player that finds him has 150 coins. The board regularly switches between day and night time, giving players access to certain features based on whether the board is in daylight or darkness. This night and day cycle adds a new layer of strategy to the board that players must learn quickly if they want to take advantage of it and win.

4) Kamek’s Tantalizing Tower

Super Mario Party didn’t have many exciting boards, but at least it gave us Kamek’s Tantalizing Tower. This board is covered in gold, and the pricing of the star changes every time someone buys one or lands on the nearby Happening Space. The rest of the course is filled with item collection opportunities and Chain Chomp traps. When playing this board in 2v2 mode, players will benefit from the colossal play space that’s larger than most other boards in the franchise, making for some extremely competitive games.

5) Koopa’s Tycoon Town

Koopa’s Tycoon Town is a Mario Party 8 board that switches things up by revolving around a real estate competition. Hotels are littered around the board, and players invest coins to take control of the Stars. From an aesthetic standpoint, this board is not really interesting at all, but we find the shift in the way to obtain Stars to be far enough from the usual path that we enjoy it. This board is excellent for those who have played a lot of Mario Party together and want something different from the norm. It changes the stakes of the game and gives others an opportunity to win through new mechanics.

6) Space Land

Space Land is another Mario Party 2 original board that returned in Superstars. It takes place on a space station with a counter in the center that goes down every time someone steps on it. When it reaches zero, the Bowser Cannon will shoot a beam across the path in front of it that will completely drain any players hit by it of their coins. Anyone who lands on a Happening Space will have to run from some speeding cards that can set them back if someone has employed the Snifit Patrol. This is the Rainbow Road of Mario Party boards, a professional-grade board for only the most experienced players who want to beat the competition more than just have a good time.

7) Waluigi’s Island

Waluigi’s Island is the unlockable board from completing the story mode in Mario Party 3. In the lower central area is a path filled with Happening Spaces that will count down to a bomb explosion that will take all coins from every player if caught in the blast. There is also an island with a wide range of spaces that randomly change between turns. This place is packed with danger but never takes player punishment to a level that makes it unenjoyable.

8) Western Land

Western Land is the third Mario Party 2 board to appear on this list, but unfortunately, it did not return in Superstars. Players traverse a cowboy-themed town with a railroad track circling it. Players standing on the track as another player rides the train will be blasted back to the start of the board. Anyone stopping at the Wiggler shop in the top left-hand corner of the board can pay 20 coins to bring all the other players there and have a milk party. This can be useful to keep others from a Star if they are getting close. It’s a minor shift in available tactics, but enough to keep the game fun until the last second.

9) Woody Woods

Woody Woods is a Mario Party 3 board that returned in Superstars. It takes place in a forest that has Monty Moles that swap the direction players progress at various forks in the road. Instead of choosing a path, players have to obey the location designated by the turn and who landed on a Happening Space. The top left-hand corner of the map is in a darker forest area with a Boo and an unfriendly version of the helpful tree players will encounter earlier in the board. The shift in tone between each area keeps the game interesting and varied for all players.

10) Yoshi’s Tropical Island

Yoshi’s Tropical Island is easily the best board from the original Mario Party. Players will swap between two islands regularly as the star and Bowser are swapped places whenever a Happening Space is landed on. Every time players cross a bridge, they have to pay a toll which goes up one coin from the previous time it was paid. it’s possible to trap other players on one side of the board if someone has enough coins. This is definitely a board to play with close friends because a group could end up alienating someone through sheer coin control.