Nintendo gives Super Mario Party a much needed online upgrade… three years later

It took nearly three years, but Nintendo has finally given you a compelling reason to load up Super Mario Party on your Switch again. The new update significantly adds to the online component — which has been woefully lacking since launch.

Thanks to the latest update, Super Mario Party now allows you to play Mario Party, a board game mode where up to four players take turns competing against each other racing across the game board. It also added Partner Party, which is similar to Mario Party but pits two teams of two against each other. This the first time board games support online play. Additionally, 70 out of the 80 mini-games available in the game can now be played online. Before the update, Super Mario Party only allowed you to play 10 mini-games online.

According to the patch notes, there are two ways to play online, both of which require an active subscription to Nintendo Switch Online: Friend Match, which allows you to play with friends, or Private Game, which allows you to play with anyone using passwords.

Super Mario Party was released in October 2018, and it can be fun to play with friends, despite the potential rifts it can cause in your friendships. While the update seems a bit out of the blue, Super Mario Party expanding the online play options makes it another alternative for people looking for games that aren’t Jackbox or the frustrating online multiplayer in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.