Mario Party-e FAQ
version 1.25a
by Mark Raby
e-mail: [email protected]
Welcome to version 1.25a of the Mario Party-e FAQ! Created on February 28,
2003, this FAQ is copyright by GameFAQs (if it gets accepted), and Pixelboy's
e-Reader Zone web site. Any questions or info should be directed to
[email protected]. Please include "Mario Party-e FAQ" in the subject
line. Now, let's get on to some serious FAQ-ing!
LIST OF CONTENTS
0) Version History
1) Introduction
2) What is Mario Party-e?
3) Frequently Asked Questions
4) Differences/Similarities between this and other Mario Party games
5) e-Reader Connectivity
6) Card Types
7) How To Play
8) Mini-Game List/Strategies
9) Expansions?
10) Credits
0) Version History
1.0 - FAQ completed.
1.01 - Incorrect info in the coin card section fixed; added difficulty rating
to Free Challenge mini-games.
1.1 - 1.01 version number changed to 1.1.
1.2 - Added a question to section 3; made a note about more than 4 people
playing.
1.25 - New promo card was released! Appropriate sections have been updated.
1.25a - Conversion to HTML by Pixelboy. No new content added.
1) Introduction
Mario Party-e is not quite a TCG, and it's not quite a video game. Rather,
it's an interesting mix between the two of them that create addictive and
original gameplay seen no where else before. Those expecting a typical style
Mario Party game may be disappointed, because it doesn't follow the same
layout.
But it's a great game in its own right. The game is for two-four players
(although I suppose you could play the mini-games by yourself) and is not given
an ESRB rating (though if it were it would be rated E).
NOTE: You can actually play with as many people as you want. Although the
mat is designed for 4 players, if you don't use it, there's nothing stopping
you from having 5 or 6 people join you.
2) What is Mario Party-e?
It's a card game. Though it's not your typical TCG, nor is it Euchre, Go Fish,
or Crazy Eights. It's a style all its own. Let me briefly go into the object
of the game. You need to collect three parts of the "superstar" and then find
the actual superstar card. Along the way, your opponent(s) will make it harder
for you by challenging you to duel mini-games, using blocker cards, taking your
items away, and much more. All of this is detailed later in the FAQ. Let me
make it clear that first and foremost, this is a card game. It does not even
need to be played with the e-Reader, though granted that's the bulk of the fun.
This game is so original in that is combines classic TCG-style gameplay and
adds a twist of video games to it; this is something no gaming industry has
ever quite been able to accomplish, but Nintendo went out on a limb, and
created the ultimate party/card/video game of all time!
3) Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How many e-Readers do I need if I'm playing with (#) other people?
A. No matter how many people are playing, you only need ONE e-Reader. You
will just use it whenever an e-Reader challenge comes along.
Q. How long does the average game take?
A. It depends. It can be anywhere from 10 minutes to well over an hour.
Obviously, the more players you have, the longer the game will be.
Q. How do I play without the e-Reader?
A. Simple: when an event comes up that would normally require an e-Reader,
just flip a coin. Most of the e-Reader mini-games are just win or lose
outcomes. Nintendo does not really detail what to do with the Wonder Challenge
cards, but I would say if you're not playing with the e-Reader don't even
worry about the Wonder Challenges (for more info on Wonder Challenge cards, go
to section 6).
Q. Is this game worth it just to play the mini-games?
A. It's a tough call. I find most of the mini-games to be pretty
addictive, but they're much better in the context of the game. However, for
$10, it's not that big of a risk. Plus they're a neat collectible as well.
If you like Mario Party-style mini-games and/or if you're into Mario Party
stuff, go for it!
Q. Should I buy an e-Reader just for this game?
A. Again, another tough call. If you've got $40 burning a hole in your
wallet, sure! Plus, since you're getting it, try the other e-Reader games!
At $5 each, there's not much to lose.
Q. Does everyone need their own pack of cards?
A. No. One pack is all you need.
Q. Is there a special "mat" like with Pokémon and other TCG's?
A. Yes, and it comes with the box of card-e's
4) Differences between this and other Mario Party games
MARIO PARTY CONSOLE GAMES:
- You walk around on a board in search of stars
- There's a 1-player version
- You play a mini-game after every turn
- Mini-games are for all four players simultaneously
- There's extra stuff to do (buy the mini-games, mini-game records, etc.)
- You have to play near a TV and a Gamecube console
MARIO PARTY-E:
- You draw cards until you find and play the four ones needed to win
- No special 1-player version (though you can play mini-games for fun)
- You play a mini-game when a player lays a certain card
- Mini-games are either 1-player or a duel with a player you choose
(and are generally take-turn games)
- No extras
- All you need to enjoy this party is your game mat, the deck of cards,
and some friends!
BOTH:
- In both, you get to pick what character you want to be (in Mario Party-e,
you sit at the corresponding spot on the game mat)
- Both do contain mini-games (and Mario Party-e's are just as addictive
as its predecessors)
- Both can be played with two to four players
5) e-Reader Connectivity
Although the game can be played without the e-Reader, the handy little
card-scanning peripheral is what you need if you want to enjoy those addictive
little things popularized by the MP series: mini-games! Here's how it works:
have the e-Reader ready near the game mat. Whenever an e-Challenge card is
played, scan both sides of the card into the e-Reader and follow the
instructions.
NOTE: Whenever you try to scan a new mini-game, a note will pop up saying
"A dot code other than [the last mini-game you played] was scanned. If you
continue, the application will be erased. Continue?" You should choose yes
when this pops up. It can get a little annoying and I'm not sure if there's
any way to make it not do this (if anyone knows, please e-mail me)
6) Card Types
There are 7 different types of cards. On your turn, you are allowed to play
one card. Here's what each card type does:
COIN CARDS: (25 total; 24 in starter deck + 1 promo)
On the game mat, you will notice each player has five coin card silhouettes.
Most cards have a cost attached to them. You may only "pay" with coin cards
that are on the mat (known as "In-Play Coin Cards"). Typically on your first
turn, you'll want to lay a coin card down, and it is now in-play. This move is
your whole turn, but it's necessary to do most actions in the game. You may
have as many coin cards in-play as you want, but each coin you put in-play
takes up a whole turn; to have 5 cards in-play, it would take 5 turns; making
sense yet?)
Coin: Play this in your In-Play coin card pile to be used later; this ends
your turn.
Special Bonus Card: Play this in your In-Play coin card pile to be
used later as TWO regular coin cards; this ends your turn.
ITEM CARDS: (12 total; 4 of each kind)
You need these to win the game. You'll also notice these cards have
silhouettes on the game mat. You want to play one of each of the item cards
(which are Superstar's Hat, Superstar's Clothes, and Superstar's Shoes).
Notice that to lay down an item card costs two in-play coin cards.
SUPERSTAR CARDS: (4 total)
Once you have the three item cards in your play area, all you need to do is
play a superstar card to win! However, if you don't quite have all three yet,
you can still use it to steal an in-play item card from someone else. After
you use a superstar card, it is discarded.
BLOCKER CARDS: (5 total)
These are important. Blocker cards can be used when someone tries to steal an
in-play item/coin card from you, or when they try to steal a card from your
hand. Play it when your opponent uses such a card on you, and you will be able
to block it! Both cards (your blocker card and your opponent's card he is
using on you) are now discarded. Be aware that to use a blocker card, it costs
you one in-play coin card.
Hey, there's more! There are three "super" blocker cards (Super Mario, Super
Luigi, and Donkey Kong) which allow you to not only block your opponent's
action, but to do a counter attack! You need to discard two in-play coin cards
to use the counter attack though. (If you only have one or only want to use
one, you can just block the attack, as if it were a regular blocker card).
Here is each character's counter attack:
Super Mario: (2 In-Play Coins) Look in the opponent's hand and
exchange any card with 1 in your hand -OR- Take 1 card from this opponent's
In-Play cards and add it to your In-Play cards.
Super Luigi: (2 In-Play Coins) Take 1 card from this opponent's
In-Play cards and add it to your In-Play cards.
Donkey Kong: (2 In-Play Coins) Look in this opponent's hand and
exchange any card with 1 in your hand.
NOTE: If you use a "super" blocker card, your opponent can actually use a
blocker (or super blocker) ON TOP OF yours, and you can even use one on top of
that (if he/she used a super blocker)!
NOTE: After you use a blocker card, pick up a card from the deck (and if you
used two, pick up two cards).
SEARCH CARDS: (4 total)
These cards allow you to exchange one or more of your cards with cards in the
deck, discard pile, or an opponent's hand. Most of them cost one or two
in-play coin cards. If you don't have enough in-play coin cards to use it,
you can opt to use the card's "free challenge" mini-game (more details in
sections 7 and 8) Here's a rundown of each search card:
Princess Peach: (1 In-Play Coin or win the Free Challenge) Exchange
1 of your Hand cards with any card in the discard pile.
Graceful Princess Peach: (2 In-Play Coins or win the Free Challenge)
Exchange 1 of your Hand cards with any card in the Deck or Discard Pile.
Reshuffle the Deck if you choose to look through it.
Daisy: (1 In-Play Coin or win the Free Challenge) Draw 3 cards from
the top of the Deck to exchange with 3 cards from your Hand. Return your 3
Hand cards to the top of the Deck in any order.
Lakitu: (No cost) Take up to 3 Coin cards (if available) from the
Discard Pile and place In-Play. Plus play the Wonder Challenge (see section 8).
CHAOS CARDS: (10 total)
Most chaos cards make you switch hand cards with an opponent. Most of them
have no cost to use. In fact, only one card has a cost (Yoshi), for which you
can use the free challenge if you don't have enough in-play coins.
Koopa Troopa: (No cost) Take 1 Coin card from each opponent's
In-Play cards and add them to your In-Play cards.
Chain Chomp: (No cost) Shuffle your Hand cards with an opponent of
your choice and distribute 5 to you and 5 to your opponent.
Bob-Omb: (No cost) Collect all Hand cards from all players, shuffle
and distribute 5 to each player.
Goomba: (No cost) Exchange all the cards in your Hand with those of
any opponent.
Toad: (No cost) Each player takes 1 Hand card from the player on his
or her left without looking at the cards. Start with the player using the card.
Shy Guy: (No cost) Exchange 1 of your Hand cards with 1 of your
opponent's Hand cards without looking at the card.
Boo: (No cost) Take 1 Coin card from any opponent's In-Play cards and
add it to your In-Play cards.
Two Boo: (No cost) Take up to 2 Coin cards from any opponent's
In-Play cards and add them to your In-Play cards.
Yoshi: (2 In-Play Coins or win the Free Challenge) Take 1 item card
from any opponent's In-Play cards and add it to your In-Play cards.
Bowser: (No cost) Discard the In-Play Coin cards of all players
including the person playing this card. Plus play the Wonder Challenge.
DUEL CARDS: (5 total)
When you play a duel card, you can challenge any opponent to a duel mini-game
(or a simple coin toss if you don't have the e-Reader). Most do not cost
anything, but Super Waluigi and Super Wario do. In fact, Super Wario is the
most "expensive" card in the whole game.
Big Boo: (No cost) Choose an opponent to duel. If you win the duel,
take all In-Play Coin cards from your opponent and add them to your In-Play
cards. If you lose the duel, nothing happens.
Waluigi: (No cost) Choose an opponent to duel. If you win the duel,
look at this opponent's Hand and exchange any card with 1 in your Hand. If
you lose the duel, nothing happens.
Wario: (No cost) Choose an opponent to duel. Each player in the
duel will bet one In-Play Item card. The winner takes both Item cards and
adds them to his or her In-Play cards.
Super Waluigi: (1 In-Play Coin) Choose an opponent to duel. If you
win the duel, look at this opponent's Hand and exchange any cards with cards
in your Hand. If you lose the duel, nothing happens.
Super Wario: (3 In-Play Coins) Choose an opponent to duel. Players
in the duel will bet all their In-Play cards. The winner takes all the
In-Play cards.
7) How to Play
If you jumped to this section, I suggest you read the previous section which
details all the types of cards. The game play is not that difficult, but even
with the instruction booklet, it's a little hard to figure out exactly when to
draw a card and the technicalities like that. First off, if you have extra
Mario Party-e cards (like the Gamepro magazine promo one) take out as many
cards as necessary so that you have a total of 64. Next, the number of cards
is altered depending on how many people you're playing with:
2 Players --> Take out two of each of the Item Cards
3 Players --> Take out one of each of the Item Cards
4 Players --> Use all the cards
Now, shuffle all the cards and deal five to each player. You should always
have five cards in your hand! Here's an outline of a typical turn:
1) Do one of the following:
- Put a coin card on the mat (as long as you don't already have 5).
This coin card is now in-play.
- Put an item card on the mat (you are allowed to have more than one
of an item). This item card is now in-play.
- Use a superstar card to take an in-play item card from someone.
- Use a superstar card to win the game (only if you already have all
three item cards in-play).
- Use a search card, chaos card, or duel card, and follow the
instructions.
2) If you use a chaos card and it is blocked by a "super" blocker, you may
play another blocker card.
3) When your turn is over, draw enough cards so you have 5 again.
Just keep playing until someone is able to play a superstar card on top of all
three item cards. If you have any questions or comments about this, please
e-mail me.
8) Mini-Game List / Strategies
There are 11 mini-game cards (known as e-Challenge cards). They are broken up
into three categories: Free Challenge, Duel Challenge, and Wonder Challenge.
If you are not using an e-Reader, just flip a coin instead of playing the
mini-game; and just skip the Wonder Challenges.
FREE CHALLENGE
These are used for search/chaos cards when you don't have enough in-play coin
cards to use them. You may not opt to play the free challenge if you do have
enough in-play coins. If you win the Free Challenge, you get to do what the
card says; otherwise it is discarded and unused. I have ranked each game's
difficulty from 
to
(One star obviously being insanely easy, and five being almost impossible).
Daisy (Search Card): Daisy's Rodeo
Daisy will be on "Bowser's rodeo machine." You must make her stay on for 10
seconds by pressing the buttons that appear on the screen. This game is very
difficult because the buttons do not stay on the screen for very long at all.
My helpful hint: Only the buttons L, R, and B appear. When she goes to the
right, it's going to be the R button; when she goes to the left it's going to
be the L button; when she goes up it's going to be B, so be prepared before
the button even comes up!
Difficulty:
Yoshi (Chaos Card): Fast Feed Yoshi!
There will be a circle of coins and shy guys spinning around really fast (you
can't really see them). You have three tries to get Yoshi to get two coins.
One of them is actually two coins, so you can win in just one try. My helpful
hint: It's all luck. Don't try to focus on it; just push A at a random time.
That's all I can say. My record: The first time I played, I actually got the
double coin on my first try!
Difficulty:
Princess Peach (Search Card): Cast Away Mario!
Peach and Mario are in a boat. You control Mario. There will be four fish
below you; Peach tells you which one she wants. Your "magic hand" fishing pole
will already be in the water. Push A to drop it when you think it'll catch the
fish that Peach wants. My helpful hint: Over-anticipate it! If you think you
did it just a little too early, you'll probably get it.
Difficulty:
Graceful Princess Peach (Search Card): Mario's Mallet
Again, you are controlling Mario. There is a pipe between you and Peach.
Goombas are coming out of the pipe and it's up to you to whack them with your
hammer before they get Peach! At the start of the game, you press A to stop a
number roulette which decides how many Goombas you have to whack. Watch out
though! Luigi may pop his head up; if you hit him, you lose. My helpful hint:
You have 2-3 seconds to hit the Goomba before he gets Peach; take time to make
sure it's not Luigi!
Difficulty: Depends on how many goombas you need to get, but on
average:
* * * * * * * * *
DUEL CHALLENGE
These are obviously for Duel Cards. When you swipe a duel challenge card,
there is Practice Mode and Vs. Mode. I reccomend both you and the person
you're dueling do a round of practice mode first (especially if it's the first
time you're playing). Most of them are just a take-turn type of game. That
is, you play the game and then your opponent sees if he can beat your
score/time. If there is a tie, Player 1 wins (I don't think Nintendo
programmed it this way; they probably just did not consider the possibility of
a tie. I suggest if you tie that you replay the Duel Challenge.)
Big Boo: Bolt from Boo
It's a haunted house from Super Mario World! And the classic SNES Boo is right
there with you! As Mario, you must repeatedly press A or B to get to the door,
but watch out: Boo is right behind you! Whoever gets the farthest (or whoever
reaches the door the quickest) wins the duel. My helpful hint: If you stop
pressing A or B, Boo will back off, thus making it possible to get farther.
My strategy is to never let him get too close, but never let him get too far
behind you (you should stop two-three times total if you time it well). My
record: 7.55 Seconds
Waluigi: Time Bomb Ticks!
There's a bomb and a board with 16 switches (numbered 1-16). You must
deactivate the bomb by pressing the switches in order (it's not as easy as it
sounds: they are scattered in a random order!) Watch out - if you hit the
wrong switch, 200 units of time will be added (I'm guessing that's 2.00
seconds)
Player 1 goes around and sets the amount of time Player 2 has to beat. Player
2's bomb will actually be counting down from Player 1's time, and if it hits 0,
the bomb explodes and Player 1 wins. Otherwise Player 2 does. My helpful
hint: Focus on the big picture! Don't just search for the number you're going
for, but also try and keep track of where upcoming numbers are. It's hard,
but it can be done quickly if you master this technique. My record: 752 units
of time (I'm not sure how it measures it: perhaps that's 7.52 seconds?)
Wario: Wario's Bluff
One of my favorites, this is a game of chicken taken to the extreme! Wario is
in his car and he's headed towards the end of a cliff. You must push A to
accelerate him, then B to stop - the aim of the game is to get him as close to
the edge as possible. The player closest to the edge without going over wins
the duel. My helpful hint: see the bar at the bottom? You'll notice three
colors: blue, yellow, and red. Hold down A until he gets barely into the
yellow. Then let go of A for a split second, and hold down B. A more advanced
technique is to start braking sooner, but let up on the B every once in a while
to get him positioned just at the edge of the cliff. My record: I've actually
been able to get 1 ft away from the edge (I've only done it once though).
Super Waluigi: Waluigi's Reign
You'll be in a room with a bunch of pipes at the top. When you start, coins
and hammers will fall from them. Grab as many coins as possible, but one hit
by the hammer ends your turn. Red coins will appear sporadically and are worth
5 coins. You have 20 seconds; whoever gets the highest score wins. My helpful
hint: It's better to stay alive than go for the red coins! My record: 50.
Super Wario: Balloon Burst
This classic Mario Party game is not quite like it was in the previous versions.
You and your opponent take turns pumping the Wario balloon. You can hold
down A as long as you like, up to a maximum of 3 seconds. The person who pops
the balloon loses. This mini-game is the closest to the simultaneous play
style familiar to the Mario Party series. My helpful hint: the less you and
your opponent pump the balloon each time, the bigger it will grow. On average,
it seems to pop just about when the balloon covers up the entire cord from the
pump.
* * * * * * * * *
WONDER CHALLENGE
There are only two of these; one is a search card, the other is a chaos card.
Each one will take you to a roulette of events. I have included the actions
from each roulette and what each one does.
Lakitu (Search Card): Lakitu's Luck
1) Take 1 Item! - Take 1 Item from the discard pile and add to your
In-Play cards.
2) Take 2 Items! - Take 2 Items from the discard pile and add to your
In-Play cards.
3) Take 3 Items! - Take 3 Items from the discard pile and add to your
In-Play cards.
4) Take 3 Coins! - Take up to 3 Coins from the discard pile and add to
your In-Play cards.
5) Take 5 Coins! - Take up to 5 Coins from the discard pile and add to
your In-Play cards.
6) Discard 1 Item! - If you land on this, you'll hear a nice little
scream and then you'll have to Discard 1 item from your In-Play cards.
Bowser (Chaos Card): Spinister Bowser
Yep, it's the good ol' Bowser roulette!
1) Discard all coins - Discard all In-Play Coins from all players (kind
of pointless because the Bowser card makes everyone discard all their In-Play
Coins before you do the roulette!)
2) Pass In-Play Left - All players pass their In-Play cards to the person on their left
3) Pass In-Play Right - All players pass their In-Play cards to the person on their right
4) Pass Hand Left - All players pass their Hand cards to the person on their left
5) Pass Hand Right - All players pass their Hand cards to the person on their right
6) Take all Items - If you land on this, you'll hear a long victorious sound
effect and then you'll get to Take all In-Play Items from each player and add
to your In-Play cards!
9) Expansions?
There has been some speculation as to whether or not Mario Party-e will have
expansion/booster packs. The problem is: this is a fixed set (kind of like
UNO). However, they could release new e-Challenge cards that would just
replace the current ones. And since there are 11 e-Challenge cards, it makes
the perfect booster pack size. Plus, Nintendo Power and the Mario Party-e
instruction book refer to this 64-card deck as the "base set." We'll just have
to see how it unfolds...
UPDATE: In the June issue of Gamepro magazine, there was a promo coin
card, called the "Special Bonus Card" which acts as two coins instead of one.
While this is nothing to get thrilled about, it does mean that Mario Party-e
expansions are indeed possible!!!
10) Credits
Thank you so much to the people at the Mario Party-e message board for
inspiring me to write this FAQ! Thank you also to CJayC who does incredible
work around the clock and found time to (hopefully) put this FAQ up on his
site!
Also thanks go to Pixelboy for HTMLizing this FAQ for his site.
One final word of thanks goes out to Crazyreyn for proofreading this FAQ.
Thanks Crazyreyn!!!
