Minigames (also spelled "mini-games") are short games found throughout many games in the Mario series. They usually reward coins or items when won or completed.
Mario Party series minigames
In the Mario Party series, minigames are found in various categories. When a player completes a minigame, he or she receives ten Coins or an item. The player may lose Coins for losing minigames in Mario Party. This was removed in the following Mario Party games.
Purpose
Minigames appear at the end of each turn. They allow the players to fight for coins to aid them in their quest.
Based on the color of the space that a player lands on, that player is assigned to a different "team" for the duration of that turn's minigame. Players who land on blue spaces are assigned to a blue team, and red spaces assigned to a red team. Players who land on green spaces will be assigned at random to be blue or red. If all four players end up on a single team, a 4-player minigame is played. If the players are split 1-3, a 1-vs-3 minigame is played in which the lone player confronts the partnership formed by the other three players. If the players are split 2-2, a 2-vs-2 minigame is played with the two partnerships going against each other.
In a standard minigame, the winning player or team receives ten coins for their victory. Should multiple players or teams fulfill the win conditions of the game, they are all declared winners. Should no players or teams fulfill the win conditions, the game is declared a draw and no coins awarded.
In some minigames, there is no "winner"--these games generally involve some number of coins being present through the course of the gameplay. Each player or team keeps as a prize the coins that he or she collected during the game.
Genre
Minigames are split into these main categories:
2 vs. 2
The four players are split into two teams, in which they have to work together to accomplish the minigames. Some 2vs2 minigames can be played duel style.
4-player
The four players fight each other in this type, but they can sometimes be on a team.
1 vs. 3
A lone player confronts the partnership formed by the other three players. 1 vs. 3 games can either give the 1 player a disadvantage over the other 3 or an advantage.