Super Mario first came to life in the 1980s as a computer game, since then Mario, Luigi and their friends in Mushroom Kingdom are still gracing our screens. As well as computer games, Mario and friends have also entered the board game / tabletop game world and in March 2022 (not long after the annual celebrations of Mario Day on March 10) we played the tabletop game Super Mario Air Hockey. Regular readers of our blog we know that we love to play games, having regular family game nights and love to try out new games so we are trying out another game in the Mario range of tabletop games. As Wimbledon is currently in progress, we went for Super Mario Rally Tennis.
Super Mario Rally Tennis is an action-packed tabletop tennis game for 2 players, aged 5+. It requires no batteries to play. Players must slide their characters left and right to receive the ball and hit the button at the right time to serve and return! The scoreboard helps you keep track of the match in true tennis style. Who can defeat their opponent and become the Rally Tennis champion!
The game comes with collectible Mario and Luigi figures that can be used interchangeably with other Super Mario games in the series that are part of the Epoch Games Link System!
In the box:
- Tennis Court Game Board
- 2 Flippers
- 1 Scoreboard
- 2 Tennis Rackets
- Ball
- Mario Character
- Luigi Character
- Card Insert for Scoreboard / Hoardings
- Instructions
There is very minimal setup with this game as the playing arena is mostly intact when it comes out of the box. The Mario and Luigi characters with their tennis rackets need to be placed on the flippers and the flippers are then placed on each end of the board. The scoreboard with cardboard insert is slotted onto the board next to the net and the four advertising hoardings are placed around the court. The ball is added, and you are ready to play. Quick and simple.
Playing the game is easy. Just as in real tennis, the ball must cross the baseline of the opposing player to score points. Super Mario Rally Tennis has a rather unique ‘ball’, rather than being a traditional round ball it has a flat bottom so that it can glide over the court.
Rather than listening to the kids argue over who goes first and who is going to play as Mario or Luigi, we flipped a coin to decide the starting player. With that decided, the ball is placed in front of that players flipper. To serve/hit the ball, players move the flipper left or right and press the button to hit.
Points scored are marked on the scoreboard and the first player to win six games is the winner!
Overall, Super Mario Rally Tennis is a fun and fast game, perfect for the Wimbledon tennis season and the upcoming summer holidays. It is easy to play.
As it doesn’t have a traditional ball, there is a plastic cover over the court which allows the ball to smoothly glide across the court, over the net and towards the other player – all they must do is try and hit it back.
We love that there is very little assembly involved and that it doesn’t require batteries to play.
Gameplay is easy, slide the flipper left or right and press the button when you want to hit the ball. Keeping track of the score is simple by using the scoreboard and entering points scored (0, 15, 30, 40 and Game) and entering how many games each player wins.
The components feel very good quality and the flippers feel like they should stand up to children’s play and constant pressing of the button. WE had had no issues.
Whilst the game is supplied with Mario and Luigi characters, as it is part of the Link System, you can use characters from other Super Mario games in the series (if you have them).
We have loved playing Super Mario Rally Tennis. It is good fast, fun, and easy to play. It is surprising how involved and competitive you get whilst playing. Highly recommended to add some fast, fun competitive play to family game nights or entertaining the kids during the long school holidays.
Anyone for tennis?
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £29.99
For more information visit supermario.epochtoys.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
