Everyone loves a party, except those party poopers next door, banging inconsiderately on the wall at 2AM, making a nuisance of themselves.

Mario is no different; he likes to let the hair on his moustache down and hang out with his friends, by enjoying a number of mini-games.

Mario Party Superstars is how he does it, the twelfth instalment in the long running franchise, and the second for the Switch since 2018’s Super Mario Party. This then, is the ‘Best Of’ album, featuring as it does five remade boards from the Nintendo 64 original.

It’s an easy concept to get your head around if you’re unfamiliar with Mario’s party antics; you and up to four other players, either locally or online, travel around a colourful board by using a dice, landing on spaces and playing mini-games along the way. And with over a 100 mini games to play, there’s a lot mini gaming magic for one and all.

As has been the case with previous entries, Mario Party Superstars is supremely creative and inventive. It’s all too easy to be a gaming snob about it, seeing it as more of a gimmick than a true gaming experience, but that simply isn’t the case. It’s a game that can bring friends and family together, just as Wii Sports did on the Wii, with its arm waving exploits playing Tennis, Bowling and the like.

It’s also a game that, regardless of your gaming prowess, is never easy to predict a winner. It has mechanics in place that are constantly changing the dynamics of the board, similar to that of the Chance and Community Chest cards in Monopoly. Sure it can be frustrating at times, especially if you happen to finally find yourself in first spot for a change, but never has the adage of ‘it’s not the winning but the taking part that counts’ been more true than here.

Ultimately though, it’s just a fun experience. The games are so incredibly varied, that even if you end up replaying them over time, which you invariably will, it’s unlikely to taint your overall enjoyment.

It should be mentioned that if you find yourself a party of one, you can still take part, as you simply compete against three CPU characters. If you play the board game, this can lead to a fair amount of time lost watching these characters take their turns, but it doesn’t take anything away from the mini-games themselves. So friends or no friends, you can still indulge in some mini-game madness.

And although the board aspect is the meat and potatoes of the game, with even the briefest bouts lasting well over 30 minutes, and with ones with more turns lasting considerably longer, you can just dip into the mini-games themselves, without committing yourself to a gaming marathon.

Mario Party Superstars is a joyful collection of great mini-games, making it hugely enjoyable, with or without friends. It has that kind of pick up and play mentality that non gamers find attractive, which is no mean feat.

But most of all, it’s just great fun. Which is no surprise really, it’s a Mario party after all.