The best party video games to excite any gathering

This digital board game sets the bar for all other party video games. Players choose their character from a wide Mario roster before moving their way around a themed game board, triggering challenging and hilarious mini-games as they go. With over 80 of these mini-games to be played and a selection of party game modes, including Mario Party, River Survival and Online Mariothon, Mario Party has plenty to give, time and time again.

Your task, as a team of chefs, is to co-operatively run a restaurant's kitchen, ensuring everything runs smoothly and orders are timely and correct. This isn't so you can keep a decent TripAdvisor ranking, but in order to beat the evil army of The Unbread. This is your task, not matter whether you're on a storm-battered hot air balloon, over a ravine or in a gold mine. The game is silly and endlessly rewarding – at first, it seems like a casual game, but you'll soon find your party hooked, rushing to get that Sashimi out in time.

Sometimes party games don't need to be smart – they just need to work. This is where Super Smash Bros enters as one of the greatest party games of all time. The premise is simple – pick your character and go toe-to-toe with your friends on a floating platform in an all-out, chaotic, physics-defying mega-brawl.

The game that'll have everyone sweating in anticipation of the Blue Shell. There are many great arcade racers out there, but Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has everything needed to deliver a first-class party game. There are over 40 racers, 48 tracks and an array of unique game modes including as Bob-omb Blast and Balloon Battle, which serve as a really nice addition to the standard – but still endlessly enjoyable – races. This deluxe edition is preloaded with all the DLC.

This quiz party game isn't just about quick fire general knowledge – Knowledge is Power really mixes things up. With contestant blocking Power Plays, encouraged alliance forming and wily hatched plots, this game is more than just about quick minds. There are thousands of questions, which ensures the game never stales, and you won't need any extra controllers because the game runs off of PlayLink, so everyone uses their smartphones or tablets!

Drawful 2 is a game that'll have everyone demonstrating their pitiful drawing abilities. Each player hooks up to a central server via their smartphone, tablet or PC (a really simple process) and is given a unique and unusual phrase or word prompt. Each player must then, against the clock and with only two colours and no eraser, draw the phrase. The group is then presented with the image and must try and decipher the original phrase. They say a picture speaks a thousand words – this game will prove once and for all that this isn't the case.
Also available on Steam, Switch, PS4 and Xbox One.

That's You! has hit on a really key element of delivering a successful party game – the true inclusion of the players themselves. Players are guided through an onscreen party, hosted by the game's narrator, and presented with a series of situations and questions all based on their knowledge of their fellow players. Questions like "Whose birthday party would attract the weirdest quests?" are combined with selfie and drawing competitions to inject a real joy into any gaming party. This game is best played with three or more friends, as it really varies up the gameplay and possible answers.

Gang Beasts is a strange and ridiculous game – and for that reason, it is the perfect party game. Each player takes control of weird blobby sprite and proceeds to grapple and brawl with their compatriots – the game has a real slapstick edge, and the ragdoll physics and deadly environments only add to the madness. Imagine Super Smash Bros, but without the refinement or ability to use any gaming skill at all – it's certainly a joyous experience. Gang Beasts is best played with other gamers, as the controllers are tricky (which is all part of the fun) and require a level on controller familiarity.