Super Mario Bros. is no longer so much a strict “video game” franchise as a palette of worlds and characters that makes damn near anything one could lay it over roughly 10,000 times more fun. From games, TV shows, and movies to refrigerator magnets and now an official edition of Monopoly, the Mushroom Kingdom is everywhere we want to be.
Apparently, the battle to upend Bowser will no longer be won simply by concussing goombas, diving down sewer pipes, and punting slow-witted turtles, but by stockpiling all those coins that pop up from bricks we punch and investing them in real estate. Yes, that makes Nintendo’s hallmark universe sound much less insane.
This collector’s edition of the Parker Bros. classic destroyer of friendships lets up to six players accumulate precious holdings around the board as 8-bit Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, Super Mushroom, or 1-Up Mushroom pieces and lay out castles and goal posts in lieu of the familiar hotels and houses. The set is littered with references to the legendary Mario Bros. franchise to multiply the fun of trying buy up every World while collecting “? Block” and “Warp Pipe” cards in place of traditional Community Chest and Chance decks.
