Nintendo has released a free software update that adds online multiplayer* to Super Mario Party for Nintendo Switch.

After installing the software update, players with a Nintendo Switch Online membership can play online with faraway friends on their Nintendo Switch friends list who also own the game. It’s also possible to play with other players by sharing a password. Online voice chat is also supported through the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app.

The following game modes are all playable online for up to four players:

• Mario Party: Choose from 20 playable characters and race across a range of boards with the roll of a dice. Take part in action-packed minigames to gain coins, and trade them for items or Stars. Finish the game with the most Stars – including ones taken from other players! – to be crowned the winner.
• Partner Party: Two players join forces and work together as a duo to grab the most Stars. Each player can move freely around the board in pursuit of Stars, paving the way for smart strategies and dramatic duels.
• Minigames: Seventy of the included 80 minigames** are playable in online multiplayer, so friends and family can battle it out on dozens of fast-paced minigames.

Up to four friends or family members can all play together online, using one Joy-Con each; for instance, one of the two Joy-Con included with the Nintendo Switch console. Once every player has a Joy-Con, the possible play configurations are:

• Two players:
  • Two Nintendo Switch consoles, with one player per console;
• Three players:
  • Two Nintendo Switch consoles, with two players on one console, and player three on a second console;
  • Three Nintendo Switch consoles, with one player per console.
• Four players:
  • Two Nintendo Switch consoles, with two players on each console;
  • Four Nintendo Switch consoles, with one player per console.

A Nintendo Switch Online family membership allows up to eight members of the same family to use the Nintendo Switch Online membership service for AU$54.95 / NZ$60.45 a year. Find out more at the Nintendo Switch Online website.

After installing a free software update available today, Super Mario Party players with a Nintendo Switch Online membership can play online against faraway friends who also own the game.