Nintendo is bringing a new Mario Party game to the Switch

And it looks bigger and more ambitious than ever

Nintendo

The June 2024 Nintendo Direct was crammed with announcements, and Nintendo snuck a new Mario Party for Switch right in the middle. It’s called Super Mario Party Jamboree, and in addition to new boards and challenges, the multiplayer game is adding motion controls and an online battle royale mode that up to 20 people can take part in.

Okay, so motion controls aren’t really new, but they’ve turned into a rarity since the Nintendo Wii days.

Anyway, Super Mario Party Jamboree packs over 110 minigames in, which Nintendo says makes it the biggest Mario Party ever. Not all of them use motion controls. In addition to hammering, rotating, and lifting games, the Jamboree trailer teased a wide range of challenges, from Yoshi riding and frame matching to playing chicken with a giant Bullet Bill.

All these minigames roll up on five new boards, including a mall called Rainbow Galleria with multiple routes and flash sales, a Mario Kart-inspired race course, and Goomba Lagoon, a natural paradise where unpredictable events shake up your well-laid plans. The other two are Mega Wiggler’s Tree Party and King Bowser’s Keep, though Nintendo didn’t say much about those. Mario’s Rainbow Castle from the first Mario Party and Western Land from Mario Party 2 are also making a comeback.

Jamboree’s other big new feature is the Koopathlon, an online mode where up to 20 players compete in several minigames to see who earns the most points and walks away as the ultimate winner. The surprising thing is that it took this long to see such a mode appear in a Mario Party game, but better late than never.

Super Mario Party Jamboree launches on Sep. 16, 2024, for Nintendo Switch. Nintendo had plenty more surprises in store as well, including a Zelda game where you actually play as Zelda and a brief look at Metroid Prime 4 after all these years of waiting.