Wahoo! Nintendo announces special Super Mario editions of Monopoly and Jenga

(Image credit: Nintendo / Hasbro)

Nintendo has announced special editions Monopoly and Jenga to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Super Mario

In collaboration with Hasbro, the special editions are both set to release on August 1, 2020 and will bring a Super Mario twist to the classic tabletop games. The Super Mario Celebration edition of Monopoly features trade locations from iconic Super Mario games, along with characters and themes from the franchise throughout years. 

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Rather neatly, it will also include a Question Block with sound effects that can change up a player's luck, which sounds like such a fun way of shaking up the game in a way the famous moustached plumber would approve of. Instead of Monopoly's traditional hotels and houses, Toad houses and Princess Peach's castles will take their place, with special Mario-themed tokens to move around the board. 

And as someone who grew up playing Jenga, it's very cool to see the classic blocky tower get a Super Mario makeover. Instead of the usual wooden blocks, the Jenga tower is made up of classic Mario-themed bricks, and the way you play the game is also a little bit different. While you still have to ensure the tower doesn't fall over, you have to climb up the tower as one of four Super Mario characters in a bid to try and defeat Bowser. The characters come in the form of pegs, and as you climb, you can collect coins that add to the points you score. You also use a spinner to determine each move you have to make. 

With 2020 marking the 35th anniversary since Super Mario first released back in 1985, these special edition games are such a delightful and nostalgic way of celebrating the iconic series. 

Looking for more tabletop goodness? Here's our pick of the best classic board games. Or you can check out our review of Mario's latest adventure, Paper Mario: The Origami King

Heather Wald
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good.