Mario Party: Island Tour
The twelfth main Mario Party and first on Nintendo 3DS. Race to the end of seven unique boards, battle through Bowser’s 30-floor Tower, and play 81 minigames — all over local wireless with up to 4 players.
Story
Four players race across the Party Islands boards
Each board has a unique win condition — race to the end!
The main menu — Party, Minigames, Bowser’s Tower and moreAfter a relaxing day at Peach’s Castle, Mario and the gang receive a mysterious bubble-letter inviting them to the Party Islands. They cheer — but the letter suddenly traps them in bubbles and carries them off to the islands.
While they party and play games, Bowser arrives — furious that he was not invited. He builds Bowser’s Tower, locks all the fun inside bubbles using a bubble machine, and creates bubble clones of Mario and friends to guard each floor. The player’s character climbs the 30-floor tower with a green Toad, defeating clone bosses along the way. After defeating Bowser in Bowser’s Sky Scuffle on the 30th floor, the player destroys the bubble machine and restores the Party Islands.
Gameplay & Modes
Island Tour’s core change: instead of looping around boards collecting Stars, each board is a race to the end with a unique win condition. Players roll Dice Blocks each turn, use Cards for advantages, and play minigames between rounds.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Board Format | Linear or branching path — race to achieve each board’s unique goal. No two boards share the same win condition. |
| Dice Blocks | Standard 1–6 roll each turn. Special Dice Block cards (Fast, Slow, Reverse) modify the outcome. |
| Cards | Earned via minigames and board spaces — used to move opponents, swap positions, or gain movement bonuses. |
| Minigames | 81 minigames across 4-Player, 1-vs-3, 2-vs-2 and Solo types. Triggered after every round and on special spaces. |
| Local Wireless | Up to 4 players each with their own 3DS. Download Play lets friends join without a game card. |
| StreetPass | Pass another Island Tour player to unlock StreetPass Minigames — ghost-based challenges from your encounter. |
Modes
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Party | 1–4 players on any board. The core experience — choose turns, difficulty and board. |
| Minigames | Play any unlocked minigame directly in Free Play, Minigame Match or Minigame Tournament. |
| Bowser’s Tower | Solo 30-floor climb — fight boss clones every 5 floors, defeat Bowser at floor 30. Unlocks gallery content. |
| StreetPass Minigames | Triggered automatically when passing another player — short ghost-data minigame challenges. |
| Collectables | Gallery of character artworks, board art, music and minigame cards unlocked by playing all modes. |
Collectibles gallery — fill it in by playing all modes
Bowser’s Tower — 30 floors of boss battles
Strategy, cards and minigames combine every turnCharacters
Island Tour features 12 playable characters — all available from the start with no unlocking required. Rosalina makes her Mario Party series debut here. Character choice is cosmetic in Party mode but affects voiced reactions in Bowser’s Tower.
Playable Characters (All 12)
MarioDefault
LuigiDefaultPrincess PeachDefault
YoshiDefault
DaisyDefault
WarioDefault
WaluigiDefault
ToadDefault
Bowser Jr.Default
RosalinaSeries debut ★
BooDefaultDonkey KongDefault★ = First appearance in the Mario Party series.
Bowser’s Tower Bosses
Boards
Seven boards — each with a completely different layout, win condition, and set of rules. Every board is a linear race rather than a loop, and no two boards play alike.
A seventh area, Bowser’s Tower, serves as the solo story mode rather than a multiplayer board — see the Gameplay section for details.
Cards & Items
| Card | Effect |
|---|---|
| Mushroom Card | Adds +3 bonus spaces to your movement roll. |
| Skip Card | Forces a chosen opponent to miss their next turn. |
| Swap Card | Instantly swaps your board position with any other player. |
| Bowser Card | Triggers a Bowser Event on a chosen opponent. |
| Fast Dice Block | Guarantees you roll a 4–6 on your next turn. |
| Slow Dice Block | Forces an opponent to roll only 1–3 on their next turn. |
| Reverse Dice Block | Changes the Dice Block so the result is 7 minus whatever was rolled. |
| Board-Specific Cards | Each board has unique cards — Star Cards on Star-Crossed Skyway, Fuel Cards on Rocket Road, Kamek Cards on Kamek’s Carpet Ride, etc. |
Minigames
81 minigames spanning every category — fast-paced action, gyroscope tilting, touchscreen precision and StreetPass ghost play. Minigames trigger after every board round and from special spaces, with winners earning cards and advantages.
| Type | Count | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 4-Player | ~40 | All four players compete. Most common type — winner earns cards or bonuses. |
| 1 vs 3 | ~15 | Solo player vs three opponents, each side with different controls or objectives. |
| 2 vs 2 | ~10 | Teams of two compete cooperatively. |
| Solo | ~10 | Each player scores individually. Used in Bowser’s Tower boss battles. |
| StreetPass | 6 | Exclusive to StreetPass encounters — play against ghost data from players you’ve passed. |
Sample Minigames
Magmathon4-Player
No-Traction Action4-Player
Slow G4-Player
Tile Savvy4-Player
Quickest Cricket4-Player
Color Me Fast1 vs 3
Blown Hover2 vs 2
Sub Trouble4-Player
Reception
| Publication | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Metacritic | 61 / 100 | Mixed reviews — praised board variety, criticised thin solo content and luck-heavy design. |
| IGN | 5.8 / 10 | Inventive boards but hollow in single-player. Best experienced with four players. |
| Nintendo Life | 7 / 10 | Praised unique board gimmicks and 3DS features. Recommended for groups. |
| GameSpot | 5 / 10 | Criticised luck-heavy gameplay and lack of strategic depth for solo play. |
| Nintendo World Report | 6.5 / 10 | Bowser’s Tower highlighted as a standout; minigame variety praised. |
Island Tour is best enjoyed with four local players — its board variety and 81 minigames make for a genuinely fun group experience. The heavy reliance on luck and thin solo content were the main criticisms.
Trivia & Notable Facts
- First Mario Party on Nintendo 3DS — the series had appeared on GBA and DS but this was the first purpose-built for 3DS.
- The 12th main installment (19th overall) in the Mario Party series, developed by NDcube.
- Rosalina’s Mario Party debut — she had appeared in Mario Kart Wii and 3D Land but never in a Mario Party game before this.
- The race-to-the-end format replaced Star collecting — a divisive change that made boards feel more like mini-games in themselves.
- Bowser’s Tower is widely considered the strongest part — 30 floors of solo progression with distinct boss battles gave single-player a clear arc.
- The StreetPass integration is one of the deepest in any 3DS game — passing another player unlocks 6 exclusive minigames.
- Released November 2013 in North America — the same holiday season as Super Mario 3D World on Wii U.
- Hudson Soft, the original Mario Party developer, had been dissolved into Konami in 2012 — NDcube has developed every entry since Mario Party 9.
Video
Mario Party: Island Tour — Official Trailer