Parties have come a long way since my mum bundled 30 kids in a car and allowed us to gorge until sick at the tables of a certain Scottish restaurant.

These days Nintendo want you and your mates to wave white sticks in front of a telly in an effort of one-upmanship involving minigames. Mario’s having another party, and you won’t be having nuggets.

There’s an overarching story, of sorts, if you really care about why you’re collecting stars (Bowser’s nicked them, the dastard) but the reality is you’re in it because you want to rub your friends’ noses in your superior gaming abilities.

To get to the minigames one must squash into a little car not driven by your mum and traverse a game board by smashing dice about. Hopping over the game squares releases extra dice, stars and other miscellaneous bonuses, and lead to the requisite boss fights which throw up more stars.

It’s nothing terribly groundbreaking, and a lot of the minigames have woeful instructions. The facility to practice is a welcome one.

But as a family game for those who don’t find the prospect of splashing corridors with zombie brains appealing, it’s a good hoot.