Mario Kart Online

Mario Kart Online is a spin-off entry in the Mario Kart series available on PC and most mobile tablets. This entry in the series relies almost entirely on the online races and tournaments. It was first released on 16th December, 2016.

Licences
When booting up the game for the first time, the player is asked to create an account so their online statistics can be recorded. In this game, accounts are referred to as "Licenses".

Weight classes
Benefits for lighter characters include better acceleration and the ability to lose less speed when they go off-road.
 * Super Light
 * Light
 * Medium
 * Heavy
 * Super Heavy

Benefits for heavier characters include better top speed and the ability to knock lighter characters aside.

Character abilities

 * Boost characters gain a bigger burst of speed from boost panels and items.
 * Flight characters can release gliders from certain trick panels.
 * Power characters can break through and destroy certain hazards. These hazrds will stun other characters.
 * Swim characters can drive underwater. Other characters will have to be rescued by Lakitu if they fall into water.

Non-playable

 * Brighton: Guide for the offline modes.
 * Twila: Guide for the online modes.
 * Lakitu: Acts as the referee.
 * White Koopa Troopa: A racer that can only be used by computer players.

Tracks
The Thunder Cup and Special Cups are unlockable cups.

Grand Prix
Grand Prix features the player racing on four different tracks against up to ten computer players.

Default difficulties

 * 50cc
 * 100cc

Unlockable difficulties

 * 150cc
 * Mirror

Point System
A player’s point count will never drop below zero.

Sandbox Race
Sandbox Race features the player and three White Koopa Troopas. Here, the player has access to unlimited supplies of every normal item in the game, and, in the pause menu, can change the behaviour of the White Koopa Troopas. The mode is supposed to be used to practice racing.

Battle Mode

 * Balloon Battle - Everybody has three balloons, with each item they hit taking a balloon away. Lose all your balloons, and you are out!
 * Score Battle - Everytime you hit an opponent, you gain a point. Have the most points when time runs out to win.
 * Coin Battle - Coins are scattered around the arena! Hoard the most when time runs out to win.
 * Ghost Battle - One player is infected by a ghost! The ghost player has a minute to catch as many opponents as possible, turning them into ghosts. Anybody who is not infected when time runs out is the winner!

Online Grand Prix
Online Grand Prix features 6-13 players competing in four different tracks. Everybody votes for which track to race on, which is chosen randomly by the "Race Roulette".

After four races, the top five will receive "Online Cups".

If there are less than six racers, the empty slots are filled up by White Koopa Troopa CPUs set to Easy. These will also replace players who disconnect in the middle of an Online Grand Prix.

Occasionally, players will be sent to a Team Online Grand Prix, which can include two, three or four teams. Players can be assigned to Team Red, Team Blue, Team Green or Team Yellow. There is also never an uneven amount of players on each team.

Quick Race
Quick Race assigns up to thirteen random players to a random track on a random engine class.

Quick Battle
Quick Battle assigns up to thirteen random players to a random battle track. A random battle game is also chosen.

Special Race
Special Races include new elements to regular races. There are several different types of Special Races, including:
 * Competitive Race - No items at all, most hazards turned off, simply pure racing goodness!
 * Chaotic Race - Just a regular race... but not really! In Chaotic Races, any character can get any item in any place!
 * Indefinite Race - Nobody knows how many laps there are, so finishing every lap in first is important!
 * Speedy Race - Everybody has an unlimited supply of Dash Mushrooms! There is no way for characters to lose their Dash Mushroom, as they have infinite supplies, and hazards which usually cause players to lose their items now don’t.
 * Backwards Race - Race on the tracks as usual, only in backwards! Due to the nature of this type of race, some tracks cannot be raced on.
 * Elimination Race - A typical race, except the last person to finish each lap (or part of a track) is eliminated from the race entirely! This continues until there is only one person left.

Friend Room
Friend Room allows the player to play with up to twelve of their friends. Here the group can do a variety of things include:
 * Friend Grand Prix - Compete with your friends in a four-track Grand Prix!
 * Team Friend GP - Team up with your friends so you can win the trophy together!

Normal Items
All characters can receive normal items.

Special Items
Only certain characters can receive special items, though characters who generally cannot receive these items can still steal them using the Boo item.

Trivia

 * This game features the return of many characters in the Mario series who have been absent for many years:
 * This is Marty's first appearance since Mario Kart Wii in 2008.
 * This is Mini Bowser's first appearance since Mario Party 7 in 2005.
 * This is Brighton and Twila's first appearance since Mario Party 6 in 2004.
 * This is Tatanga's first appearance since Super Mario Land 2: The 6 Golden Coins in 1992.
 * Finishing from 2nd to 5th triggers the "Moderate" results, whilst finishing from 6th to 11th triggers the "Losing" results.
 * However, when 12 or 13 players are racing, coming in 6th will trigger "Moderate" results.
 * 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th can also trigger "Losing" results if that is the lowest possible rank in the race.