Mario Party 10
© 2015 Nintendo of America
Designed for up to five players at once, this is the first edition of Mario Party for Wii U. It comes bundled with or without an amiibo character (add $10 for the amiibo option). It leverages the affordances of the Wii U GamePad controller to bring a new play dynamic to small groups. There are three modes: Classic Mario Party, Bowser Party, and amiibo Party. Content includes 70 mini-games. In Bowser mode, four players might be controlling vehicles while the fifth plays the bad guy (Bowser) and uses the Wii U GamePad controller to bonk or blast the other players. The four players must work together to reach the finish. In Bowser's Wicked Wheel, the Bowser player uses the GamePad to turn a wheel that makes the other players run, like mice. Bowser can either make it go faster or stop the wheel suddenly to trip up the other players. The amiibo Party mode requires one amiibo figure (sold separately); up to four players battle against each other to collect coins to earn stars on a game board themed around their amiibo character. Children can customize their amiibo by picking up tokens or steal coins from other players to be used in future amiibo Party mode games. All in all, this is an excellent highly social addition to any game library.
$50, Wii U
Teaches: socialization, timing, logic, math