"Mario Party" and My Lack of Luck Therein

Look at that face. Ain't it adorable? That's the face of luck, ladies and gents.

I should explain. I played a few variations of Mario Party over the weekend. It started with 4 and 5, where I lost miserably both times as Luigi. I played each game, ending with no stars and four coins (in Mario Party, the player with the most stars is the winner). And then my friends popped in Mario Party 7. I did lose again this time, but by a much thinner margin. I blame Toadette, Toad's lady friend and my character of preference in Mario Party.

It started as a joke. I knew I would lose, so I figured I'd be the cutesiest, girliest, silliest character. Throughout I made a lot of jokes, but then something magical happened. I started winning. By the grace of Toadette's cutesy appearance, I was winning for a few turns. I ended up in second place, but still, I at least held a victory for part of the game. I didn't mind losing - I had found a lucky character.

That's the first lesson I've learned about Mario Party. Be superstitious. If you play well as Waluigi or Dry Bones, play as one of them. If you play well as Toadette, then by all means, play as Toadette. Personally, I had no luck as Peach or Luigi in the other games, so I'll stick to a game where I can utilize Toadette.

Also, be sure to play to your strengths. I'm lousy at mini-games (other than the puzzle games that represent Tetris or something) and I'm ultimately not all that lucky (unless I'm playing as Toadette). Thus, I always try to come up with a strategy of sorts - maneuver myself closer to the star, duel with people, the like. It doesn't normally work, but I try.

Finally, you must remember the most vital rule of winning at Mario Party. Don't be nice. I'm awful at this rule, considering most of the time I play Mario Party with my closest friends. Thus, I don't want to be a jerk and steal their win out from under them. But if you really want to win Mario Party, be merciless. Lie, cheat, and steal your way to the top. You'll win the game, but you'll probably temporarily lose some respect. Oh well. You take the good with the bad.

I'm glad I found my compatibility with Toadette. It gives me an edge against the competition. I just hope it lasts.