Mario and his friends need a break from fighting evil and saving the world; so they decided to go on a cruise! But Bowser showed up and is wrecking the good times; the only thing left to do is play a game of Mario Party!

This is the seventh entry in the Mario Party Series and features similar gameplay. The game features a combination of a board game and mini games. The goal is to collect as many stars as possible as you make your way around the game board; after each turn, players compete in one of 86 mini games. The winner of the mini game earns coins which can be used to purchase the stars. Mini games can be played with players in teams, or every player for them self. In addition to the regular spaces, the game board also features several other types of spaces; some will begin a Bowser mini game, provide hidden bonuses, or allow you to purchase orbs to help slow down your opponents. Most of the mini games are played with the GameCube controller, and also included in the package is a microphone which is used for several voice activated mini games.

The usual single player and multi player game modes are included. New in this release is the ability for up to eight players to compete! In the eight player game variation two players will need to share each of the controllers, each player controlling one of the analog sticks and a trigger.