Building comparison
head to head
Mario Party DSvsSuper Mario Party
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Mario Party DS
Variance · Pure Chaos
The shrunken handheld party where touchscreen minigames feed the usual dice-driven chaos.
Super Mario Party
Variance · Pure Chaos
The Switch revival where character-specific dice add one strategic choice to the luck festival.
Mario Party DS leans Variance (Pure Chaos); Super Mario Party leans Variance (Pure Chaos).
Mario Party DSSuper Mario Party
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 4
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Mario Party DS
Touch and mic minigames test handheld dexterity.
Super Mario Party
Joy-Con motion minigames test brief coordination.
Reads2 vs 2
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Mario Party DS
Hex placement lightly targets rivals.
Super Mario Party
Ally and item plays nudge rivalries.
Variance8 vs 8
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Mario Party DS
Dice and hex RNG dominate the tiny boards.
Super Mario Party
Character dice and bonus stars decide most games.
Optimization3 vs 3
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Mario Party DS
Short boards leave little routing depth.
Super Mario Party
Custom dice choice is the one real decision.
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.