"Mario Party 7" plays the same as previous games in the "Mario Party" series. Players go around on boards to collect coins, which they can use to buy stars. Movement is done with the use of a dice block with the numbers one through ten. After all four players take their turns, a mini-game is played. The player that wins the mini-game wins coins. The winner is the player with the most stars at the end of the game. A new feature in this game is "Bowser Time!". Every turn, a meter shaped like Bowser's face fills up a little bit. After every fifth turn, the meter fills up completely, and Bowser will appear to do something bad. What he does depends on the board.