As with most Mario Party games, an emphasis is placed on the game's multiplayer aspect. A new element to the series is the use of the Download Play functionality of the Nintendo DS to allow four people to play wirelessly using only one game card. Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Princess Daisy, Toad, Wario, and Waluigi are the playable characters.[5]
Mario Party DS features a total of 74 minigames, most of which utilize the unique features of the DS. While several mini-games use the buttons and control pad, others use the stylus and 4 mini-games use the microphone. For example, "Soccer Survival" involves trying to dodge soccer balls being kicked by a Goomba. "Camera Shy" involves characters taking photos of other characters and "Short Fuse" involves blowing on a fuse of a bomb in hopes to be the last player to survive. Others include "Globe Gunners", a game in which the players run around on a globe, shooting projectiles at each other, and boss minigames, in which the player battles villains from the Mario series, such as Bowser and Dry Bones. Minigame types include 4-player free-for-alls, teams of 2, 1 against 3, "battle" (in which players compete for a communal jackpot), and "boss" (in which the player fights 1 of 5 bosses).