How to play with friends online in Super Mario Party Jamboree

Super Mario Party Jamboree has a host of modes, and most of them can be played online with up to eight players in certain ones, like Koopathalon.

While you can start a party and play with random players, this is a Mario Party game. And what’s a Mario Party game without your actual friends? You can create lobbies to play with your friends in the multitude of modes around the world as long as you complete specific actions first. It’s pretty straightforward once you know what you’re doing, but Nintendo does a painful job of teaching players what to do to set up their first match.

It can be annoying, but we can improve on Nintendo’s mistakes here and show you the ropes to get into online matches with friends.

How to create or join an Online Match with friends in Super Mario Party Jamboree

There are two ways to join or create online matches with friends in Super Mario Jamboree, with both handled in the Party Plaza area.

Next to the hot air balloon, you can see a small blue-green machine that, when you interact with it, can start an online multiplayer session. Alternatively, you can press the Y button at any time to start an online session from anywhere in the Party Plaza, which which will make you question what the point of the machine was in the first place. Either way, you can use both options to start up a multiplayer game.

When you load up the menu, you are given two options: Create Room or Join a Room. As the host, select Create Room and then choose 4-Player Room for classic Mario Party board matches and minigames up to four players, or 8-Player Room for Bowser Kaboom Squad and Koopathlon only. The more the merrier, after all.

You can also choose to set up a four-digit passcode if you don’t want anyone you don’t know to join, or you can leave it open if you’re just looking for a game against randoms. From there, you have multiple options to get players to join.

If a player is already on your Switch friends list, they can search for open rooms and join it, inputting your passcode if you choose to set one up. Alternatively, as the host, you can press the X button to bring up a six-digit Room ID code that anyone can type in to join a person’s game, even if they aren’t on your Switch friends list.

Once you’ve followed those steps, you should be all set up to play your own game with your friends, or whoever else you might get to play in your game. With the ease of setting the game up and the privacy options, it’s perfect for streamers or competitive games.

Do you need a Nintendo Switch online subscription to play online?

Yes, you need a Nintendo Switch online subscription to play online with friends or random players. You can buy one from the eshop store or via online marketplaces.

You also need an online subscription to play any mode against random players. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck playing against CPUs or local players the entire time you play the game. And as Mario Party is traditionally best played while screaming at your friends, we’d advise you to just open up your wallet and get that online subscription. Winning against a CPU doesn’t come with any bragging rights here. And speaking of bragging rights, you can always troll your friends with one of Jamboree‘s emotes which you can purchase with the game’s Party Points.