Mario Party 4/Toad's Midway Madness



Toad's Midway Madness is an amusement park-themed board, complete with a roller coaster and spinning teacups. It is given the lowest difficulty ranking of only one (out of three) and is considered the first board of Mario Party 4.

Teacups
This board features rotating teacups, which can send you in one of two different directions (straight or turned 90 degrees). Every time after a set of teacups is used, the destination switches for the next player. This spreads out all of the players pretty effectively and increases the luck required to reach the star. As a result, you may want to focus on collecting coins so that you can purchase a Magic Lamp. One set of teacups is at the very beginning of the board, the other is just past the lottery shop.

To help manipulate which path you take, use Mini and Mega Mushrooms. If you are near the teacups, but they're going to the wrong spot, use a Mini Mushroom and wait for another player to ride them and switch the direction. If you're a moderate distance away (7-13 spaces) and the teacups are going to the correct destination, you can use a Mega Mushroom to get there before someone else can change the directions.

In addition, the second set of teacups can be completely bypassed by using a Mini Mushroom to go through the nearby gate. This will also set you on the right path for a Mini Mini-Game, an Item Shop, and the Boo House. However, you won't have the option of going on the left half of the roller coaster track.

One other thing that affects the teacups are the Happening Spaces that are immediately after the teacups. These reverse the sign a second time (the first time occurring when you get out of the teacup), making the next player forced to take the same path.

Roller Coaster
The roller coaster plays a large part in this board, occurring under one of two conditions. If a player lands on a Happening Space on the roller coaster track, it causes the roller coaster to activate. It quickly goes from one side of the track to the other, chasing any players on the track to a new space. If the roller coaster starts on the left side, players will be chased to the Blue Space above the Merry-Go-Round. If the roller coaster starts on the right side of the track, players will be chased to the Blue Space below the lottery shop.

Players can also choose to ride the roller coaster for five coins if they pass one of the white platforms while the roller coaster is nearby. There is one platform in the bottom left corner, near the first Item Shop, and another platform in the top right corner, next to the Boo house. Choosing to ride the roller coaster begins a minigame in which coins can be earned. Move the left and right to move the roller coaster car in the direction of the coins. As with the Happening Space version, any players on the track will be chased.

You can use the roller coaster strategically to take a shortcut to the other side of the board, or to chase a player away from the star if they're near it. It also is possible to make a profit of 13 coins from it.

Mini Mini-Games
The first mini Mini-Game is Merry-Go-Game. It is in the top right corner of the board, one space below the spot that the roller coaster chases you to. You can win one of four items from it, and the four items vary between games. Generally, you will get a better selection of items if you are ranked third or fourth. Gameplay is simple. You ride a horse around the item wheel in the opposite direction that it spins. Press to stop the wheel and yourself, and earn the prize that you end up next to. The trick is to stop it when you are next to the item you want. Momentum will carry the wheel one extra spin around, and you will end up getting the item you originally stopped at.

One of the most surefire ways to access this Mini-Game is to get chased by the roller coaster when you have a Mini Mushroom. Since you will literally be chased right next to it, even rolling a 1 will be enough for you to get to play it. You can also ride the roller coaster to a location nearby, but you may want a Super Mini Mushroom because you'll need to roll an 8 or higher.

The second mini Mini-Game is the Space Rocket Game, in which the goal is to pick the rocket that leads to the most coins. There are three rockets on the bottom and three numbers (representing coins) on the top. Each rocket will ascend until there is a turn to the left or right, which every rocket will always take. You can move to a different rocket using, and you can change your mind as many times as you want in the five seconds before your rocket launches.

This mini Mini-Game is very difficult to reach because you have to go through a gate to reach it, and then there are three more spaces before the actual Mini-Game location. Your best chance of reaching it is to bring two Mini Mushrooms or to bring a Super Mini Mushroom. If you get lucky, you might land on the Mushroom Space that is very close to the Mini-Game, allowing you to get an extra Mini Mushroom. Overall, however, you shouldn't go out of your way to get this Mini-Game because the maximum payout is only 20 coins.

Star Locations
The star locations in this board follow a pattern. There are four on the roller coaster track: one at the far left, one at the mid-left, one at the mid-right and one at the far right. There is also one star location near each set of teacups, one between the Item Shop and the Space Rocket Game, and one near the Boo House.