One board even takes place on a series of causeways under fire from the

Switches scattered around the board let you switch the order, meaning you can ensure that smug-looking Toad that just breezed past you is in for a nasty surprise when he reaches the goal. Another is more about collecting tiny stars than finishing first, with each section of the board ending in a prize-grab where the first player normally gets the bigger prize. One sees you making your way through a the koopa wizard Kamek’s creepy mansion by drawing cards, each one giving you the chance to move a set number of spaces or take a gamble on a range like 1-6 or 4-6. To be fair, the different boards mix it up a little. The winner gets some kind of bonus, then it’s on to the next player. In some cases this might be a mini-game, where you’ll square off against each other to find out who can score the most when lassooing the mushroom-like Goombas, or who can get through a set of sliding-tile puzzles first, or who can last the longest in a shrinking arena full of deadly ghosts. Each of you takes turns to roll a virtual dice and move so many spaces, with the chance that you might land on a square that sends you backwards or forwards, or kicks off some other special event. The main game sees up to four players - human or virtual - tackling a range of boards, with the normal aim being to make it from start to finish before your rivals. It’s a fun game in specific circumstances, but a lot of the time you’re left wondering why it has been made this specific way, and for whom. At their worst, however, they’re a crushing bore, and Mario Party: Island Tour falls nearer the wrong end of the spectrum. The combination of Mario-style virtual board games and quickfire mini-games strikes a chord with Mario’s younger fans and their families, and at their best the games have been a decent laugh. With nine home console outings and two previous handheld efforts, it’s safe to say that someone out there likes a Mario Party.

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