In the original Mario Party, a Star costs 20 coins. Players collect coins by moving around the board and winning minigames, then spend 20 of them when they reach Toad’s current location to receive a Star.
Released for the Nintendo 64, Mario Party established the central formula that defined the series: four characters travel around a board, compete in a minigame after each turn, and try to finish with the most Stars. Toad’s position changes after a Star is purchased, forcing players to plan routes and manage their coin supply.
The game contains 50 minigames, including free-for-all contests, 2-vs.-2 games, and 1-vs.-3 challenges. Coins are useful beyond buying Stars: they can be lost on red spaces, stolen by Boo, or affected by board events and Bowser.
The 20-coin price is easy to confuse with other Mario Party costs. For example, Boo can charge coins to steal from another player, while later games sometimes alter Star prices or introduce board-specific exceptions. In the original game’s standard Star purchase, however, the canonical cost is 20 coins.