2023 is shaping up to be a great year for Super Mario.
In addition to recently saving the Spring box office, Nintendo’s beloved mascot is making its way into family fun courtesy of a brand-new guessing game. In TOMY’s Pop Up Super Mario, players join the portly plumber for an exciting spin on a classic kid’s game. Providing multiple ways to play the game, the Tokyo-based toy manufacturer promises plenty of fun for everyone.
In Classic play mode, Mario is stuck in a pipe and players have to help him get out. Each player takes turns sliding their uniquely coloured paddles into the pipe. Once the correct slot has been picked, Mario leaps out of the pipe and that player wins the game. And, since the correct slot is different every time you play, no one knows for certain which one will make him pop out of the pipe next!
For a longer game, players can try Coin Collection. In this version, the paddles are all placed with the coin-side facing down. Players choose a new paddle at the start of their turn. The player who helps Mario pop out of the pipe counts the number of coins on that paddle and gets that amount added to their score. The player with the most coins at the end of the game wins.
Pop Up Super Mario is also great for larger groups. Team Luigi faces off against Team Bowser, and the team that helps Mario successfully escape the pipe wins the round. Participants can choose to play either individually or as a team in both the Classic and Coin Collection versions of the game, as well.
This is not the first time Shigeru Miyamoto’s Mario has jumped out of the television screen and onto the tabletop. In 1982, Milton Bradley released a Donkey Kong board game that had players trying to rescue Pauline from everyone’s favourite gargantuan gorilla. In 1988, Milton Bradley followed up with a Super Mario Bros. board game that saw players crusading across the Mushroom Kingdom and trying to rescue Princess Toadstool from the vile Bowser Koopa. In more recent years, Super Mario versions of everything from Monopoly to Jenga have been released, continuing to cement the popularity of Nintendo’s cavalcade of colourful characters in yet another medium.
Suitable for two to four players ages four and up, TOMY’s new Pop Up Super Mario game is currently available through retailers for $19.99 USD. Wa-Hoo!
