Since its 1998 N64 debut, the Mario Party series has just about done it all. The friendship-ending franchise spans 13 games and 7 consoles. But which Mario Party game stands at the top of the pack? Because we’re crazy people, we decided to find out.

Below is our ranking for all 12 Mario Party games, each based on their overall quality and replayability. Note that we need a bit more time with Mario Party 10 to figure out where it fits in, so we've left it off this ranking, for the time being.

Mario Party Advance is the black sheep of the Mario Party series. This handheld version forwent the classic style of four players collecting stars and coins in favor of a single player focused mode. The heart of the Mario Party series lies in its multiplayer, so while this new approach brought a few interesting ideas, it never achieved what made all the other games so enticing.

As the first Mario Party entry on the Wii, Mario Party 8 had a lot of potential. The Wii Remote brought with it an array of possibilities for fun and innovative motion controlled minigames, but the end result is a set of unimaginative and broken minigames. Boards were a hit or miss, with fantastic boards like the monopoly-based Koopa’s Tycoon Town and the forgetful and linear Goomba’s Booty Boardwalk. There is fun to be had in Mario Party 8, but you’re better off starting up a different entry in the series.

Island Tour had a great foundation with plenty of compelling ideas that unfortunately ultimately fell flat. Bowser’s Peculiar Peak had players trying to be the last to make it to the end, asking players to advance the least amount of spaces. Interesting concepts, but too many of them relied heavily on luck. Its minigames were a blast at least.

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Mario Party 5 is boring, plain and simple. The game did a lot to bring change to the static formula of the series, but these changes ultimately made for a slow and uneventful game. The new capsule system was intended to spark life into already dull boards, but this in turn left them barren. While there are a decent amount of creative minigames, they don’t redeem the boring board gameplay. The dream-themed boards will put you to sleep.

The original Mario Party gave us the basic foundation for the series, but it wasn’t without its flaws. There has to be a good balance between luck and skill to form the right Mario Party game, and with MP1 Nintendo hadn’t yet found this balance. Being able to steal a star in Peach’s Birthday Cake by landing on an event space is not cool. Neither are the random landing points of the cannons in Wario’s Battle Canyon. A lot of fan favorite minigames come from this title, even if some of them used the palm blistering control stick rotating feature. Come prepared with a glove!

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Riding off the popularity of the previous two entries, Mario Party 4 jumped from the Nintendo 64 to the GameCube, giving the series a needed visual update. The Mini and Mega system was intriguing, but some of the disadvantages, like not being able to purchase a star while mega, changed the formula in a negative way. A good assortment of fun minigames, engaging boards, and amusing modes makes this one a well rounded Mario Party experience.

Mario Party DS is a handheld Mario Party done right. Although the game had a single player focus in mind, the achievements gave players an incentive to keep playing to unlock all the badges and figurines. The board gameplay was fast and smooth, and the minigames took full advantage of the DS’s microphone and touch capabilities.

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As the last Mario Party on the GameCube, Mario Party 7 came out strong with a creative line of new boards, innovative minigames, and a ton of new modes. MP7 is the turning point of this list - from here on out, the games are all rock solid and a ton of fun.

Seriously, Mario Party 7 gives you a lot to work with. You have the return of the mic peripheral, a new eight player mode where two players share a single controller, a variety of minigame modes, an objective-based single player mode, and a shop with unlockable figurines. There’s a lot to love! Except for Bowser Time. The Mario Party series doesn’t need a feature that is always punishing, mandatory, and automatic on every board you play.

The ninth outing in the main series has to be the most divisive of the bunch. Gone is the free roaming gameplay and star purchasing, as players now ride together in a single vehicle, all while collecting the most Mini Stars before they reach the end of the board. What ultimately left this mode in shambles is the amount of luck that was forced into the gimmicks of each board. Losing half your Mini-Stars by a random event is never a good idea. With that said, the minigames are by far some of the greatest the series has ever seen, and this alone makes it a standout entry in the series.

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Mario Party 6 took the changes Mario Party 5 put into place and reworked them to create a new and inventive system. Orbs allowed players to use effective items and throw traps on different spaces, giving the game the strategic element it needed. Boards like Snowflake Lake had you stealing stars on Chain Chomps, while the new day and night system made significant changes to each board every three turns. The mic peripheral was an interesting yet underused gimmick, but the real fun was the fresh board gameplay and the exciting minigames.

As the sequel to the original, Mario Party 2 managed to improve on pretty much eveyrthing. While most of the game relies on the random dice roll at the start of your turn, the new item system helps better your chances or outright dictate what you want to happen. Double your dice roll with a Mushroom, call the coin and star stealing Boo with a Boo Bell, or head straight to the star with a Magic Lamp. Mario Party 2 featured some of the best boards of the series, and its minigames are also some of the most memorable.

The best Mario Party games know the balance between luck and skill, and Mario Party 3 best exemplifies this rule. Just about everything that made Mario Party 2 so great was pushed further as Mario Party 3 introduced even more strategic items, creative new boards, and some truly fun minigames. Even small additions like the ability to move the star location with a Lucky Lamp or using the Reverse Mushroom to move backwards makes this entry clearly tailored to the fans. Beware - some of the choices you make will be the difference between a peaceful game between friends and a couple of smashed N64 controllers.

So there you have it - 12 Mario Party titles ranked from worst to best. Do you agree? Do your personal rankings differ? Leave your thoughts in the comments!