Super Mario Bros. Power Up card game is a simple yet entertaining game. The more players there are the more interesting the game.
The cards contain pixelated mario themed images which is fun, and the life tokens are circular cardboard cutouts but they’re thick and hold up well. The cards are self-explanatory and the suggested age range is accurate. My 6 year old enjoys this game but still struggles to read, and therefore requires some assistance when it comes time to play the question block cards.
Game play begins with the person to the left of the dealer by deciding whether or not to keep their level card or trade with whoever is to the left of them. The cards have a level between 1-12, if the player has a high card they would choose to “stay” or “keep” their card, if it’s a low level they would most likely trade with the person to their left, unless they know from using one of the question block cards that another player has a card even lower in which case they might “keep” theirs, or if the person to the left of them has flipped over a “castle” card that then blocks the player from trading with them. When a castle card is revealed, that player cannot lose the round and gains another question block card for their hand. The question block cards contain various items that will either hurt your opponents, or raise up your own level in order to win the round. Each player is given 4 life tokens to start, at the end of each round whoever has the lowest level must lose one of their life tokens. Once someone has lost all 4 of their life tokens they are eliminated from the game, this continues until only one player has any life tokens left and they’ve won the game.
Each player starts the game with 1 question block card, the only way to earn more is by revealing a castle card, or if your level is tied with an opponent’s. I personally would have liked more ways to earn these cards as they can be very helpful during game play and there’s quite a disadvantage when you only have 1 of these cards and others have 3-4 in their hand.
Regardless, it is an enjoyable game that doesn’t take long to play, and is quick and easy to learn.
