Mario Day has been and gone (until next year anyway, 10 March), but that doesn’t mean that you have to stop playing Super Mario board games. We have previously played Super Mario Air Hockey and Super Mario Rally Tennis, fun sports games that we enjoyed and had fun with. Now we are going to play another game from the range, although not a sport-based one – Super Mario Lucky Coin Game, the exciting coin-pushing arcade game!
Mario, his twin brother Luigi and some of their friends have been around for a long time. And they no longer just live on our television screens, making the leap into the world of family tabletop games. These games are a fun addition to game night or to keep the kids entertained on school holidays or rainy weekends.
Super Mario Lucky Coin game is a game for 1 to 2 players, age 4+. It is a tabletop game that recreates the classic ‘coin drop’ arcade game. It features all your favourite Mario characters (these can also be used on other Super Mario games with the Link System) and has 2 fun game rules so that you can play in different ways and double the fun.
In the box:
- Battery-operated Slider (batteries not included)
- Coin Dropper
- 6x Stands with Matching Super Mario Character Stickers
- 2x Dice (with stickers for all sides)
- 56 Coins (28x Red, x28 Yellow)
- Instructions
Before you can play this game, please note that it does require batteries. Unfortunately, it requires batteries that you won’t necessarily have in the house or that you can ‘borrow’ from a remote or other device. It requires 2x C type (LR14) batteries, the larger fatter batteries. They are not supplied with the game. The batteries are installed under the slider unit, and you will need a small screwdriver to open the battery cover.
Once the batteries are installed, there is some setup required before you can play (some of it once only) – there is some assembly required. The Coin Dropper needs to be slotted into the slider base. Stickers then need to be applied to the dice, the six character stands and the coin dropper (this obviously is a one-time only requirement). With the unit assembled and decorated, players can now get to the all-important part, playing and having fun!
There are two ways to play the Super Mario Lucky Coin Game – win as many coins as you can or win all your team characters.
The first game that you can play is a 2 player game where players must compete to win as many coins as they can. Each player chooses their coin colour (red or yellow) and places 7 coins each in the dropper in the Lucky Coin channel. The remaining 21 coins are placed in the coin rack on each side of the coin slider (base unit). The question mark (?) blocks are then placed on top of the slider. Pick the starting player and turn on the switch. Players then take turns inserting 3 coins at a time, targeting them to push any coins and the ? dice block back into the coin tray. If the ? block falls in to coin tray you can place it on the Lucky Coin Chance to release your 7 coins in the dropper. Once each player has used up all of their 21 coins, count the coins in each player’s coin tray and the player with most coins is the winner.
If you want to play this as a 1 player game, it is played the same way but just using your 21 coins to win as many coins as you can.
The second game that you can play, also a 2 player game, is to race to complete your team of 3 characters. Players choose Team Mario (yellow coins) or Team Bowser (red coins). Pick the starting player. Place the characters and ? blocks on the slider. Turn on the switch, take turns inserting 3 coins at a time targeting them to push your team characters into either side of the coin tray. If you push your opponents’ character into the coin tray it goes to them. If the ? block falls in to coin tray you can place it on the Lucky Coin Chance to release your 7 coins in the dropper. The first player to complete their team is the winner.
If you want to play this as a 1 player game – try getting all the characters with minimal number of coins.
Overall, Super Mario Lucky Coin Game is a very simple game that young players and families will just love playing. It is easy to play and lots of fun, just like coin dropper games you would play at the arcades at the seaside.
It is easy to assemble the game and it all stores neatly back in the box when you have finished playing it. The game components feel very good quality and durable and the slider works well pushing coins and characters down and doesn’t get jammed.
This is going to be a game that will suit younger players better and would be good for families to play together. It is quick, fun and easy to play. We have loved playing this Super Mario themed coin dropper, it is competitive and requires a bit of thinking about to work out the best way to get the coins, blocks and characters to drop into the coin tray (whilst trying to scupper your opponent). It is very easy to play, and the coins are a good size for little hands to hold easily.
The only downside is the batteries, as they are the larger C size, they can be expensive, and you won’t necessarily have spares in the house you can borrow. With decent quality batteries you should get up to 8 hours of continuous use out of them – just make sure to switch it off when not in use to save the batteries.
Good fun to play, especially when having a Super Mario themed game night.
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £29.99
For more information, visit supermario.epochtoys.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
