Mario Kart Live is such a brilliant idea that we’re kind of amazed it’s taken this long to come to fruition. An RC Mario Kart controlled via camera view? Genius! However, making the most out of your home circuits requires a bit of creativity. To help you make the most out of your Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit set, we’ve got some simple tips that will help you achieve full throttle fun when designing your courses.
Creative tips to spice up your Mario Kart Live tracks
© Nintendo
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit’s course design is pretty straightforward. All you need to do is place down the four cardboard gates included, then drive through them to build a track. Sadly, you can’t add any kind of verticality to your tracks, but there’s still plenty of room for creativity here if you follow the following design tips and tricks.
Build yourself some walls
The best way to structure a course and add a real sense of speed to Mario Kart Live is to line your tracks with makeshift walls. Whether they’re made of boxes, cones, or even just some folded up clothes, walls will help you easily identify your track layout from the Kart’s viewpoint, and add a sense of danger to each sharp corner.
Bear in mind that Mario Kart Live doesn’t actually know where these walls and corners are, so if you get too complex with your cardboard corners, you’ll find that the AI koopaling racers will cut through places that your physical kart can’t. Still, that just adds some extra challenge for a skilled racer, right?
Add some tunnels
When starting with Mario Kart Live, it’s natural to design a course solely in the open spaces of your floor, but there’s no reason you can’t get a bit more involved with your design. Throw in a few tunnels with cardboard boxes (cut out the side which would lie on the floor) and, provided your kart fits under them, include paths that snake underneath chairs and tables. Just don’t blame us if Mario Kart Live teaches you just how dirty the underside of your sofa is.
© Nintendo
If you’re limited for room, overlap your track
The biggest limitation for Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is the space you have to play it in. There’s no denying that the AR racer is a lot better when you’ve got room to work with, but there are ways to have some fun with a smaller space. While you do need to place four gates in order, you can overlap the track between them. If you’re space-limited, create a twisting maze that overlaps itself to challenge yourself and have a bit of fun with the race.
Pick your speed based on the room
Listen, we get it, no seasoned Mario Kart racer wants to drop the speed below 150cc when playing, so surely the same is true here, right? Not quite. Mario Kart Live’s little karts are surprisingly nippy. Stick the 200cc mode on in a cramped and corner-packed course and you’ll find yourself smacking into walls far more often than you’d like. Depending on the size of the room you’re playing in, and just how complicated the track you’ve made is, you’ll want to pick an ideal speed for it before showing it off to friends and family.
© Nintendo
Have a friend add obstacles
Given the high price of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, there’s a good chance you’ll be taking turns with a single racer when playing with friends. With a little bit of help from a second player, you can create an evolving course with shifting obstacles each lap. Once the kart passes an area, have a second player hop in to add and remove obstacles on the course. So long as you don’t touch the gates, you’ll create an exciting course that forces you to adapt each lap!
Real life banana peels!
If there’s one item everyone associates with Mario Kart, it’s the banana peel. And given this is the first Mario Kart game to take place in real life, it'd be wrong not add some actual banana peels to your tracks! You’ll not only get the benefit of a new obstacle (admitttedly a touch larger than we're used to in proper MK), you’ll also be giving your body a healthy treat! For more themed obstacles, stick in some Mario plushies and toys. If you own it, the Super Mario Lego set provides the perfect building blocks for themed race track additions!
With those tips in mind, you’re free to get experimenting with Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit tracks. If you make anything particularly cool, share it with us in the comments below!
