Mario Kart is a racing style of video game that involves a series of tracks. In Mario Kart, players obtain various power-up items by driving into item boxes or coins, which can be used for either offensive attacks, defensive attacks, or to power up the player's vehicle for a brief burst of speed. Each Mario Kart game features several gameplay options, which can be played in both single and multiplayer mode:
In Grand Prix mode, players compete against one another in a themed cup. There are usually four to eight cups and multiple race courses per cup. In addition, there are three speed settings, which serve as difficulty levels. Some games include a mirror mode in which the courses are inverted along their vertical axis . Points are awarded to players based on finishing position with the race winner gaining the most points, second-place gaining fewer points, down through last place which receives no points. The player wins the cup by having the most cumulative points throughout the Grand Prix.
In Time Trial mode, the goal is to achieve the fastest time on whichever track is selected. Players are usually given up to three mushrooms which they can use at any time during the race. Once a record is set, the game saves a ghost replay of the set record, for others to compete against.
In VS. mode, multiple players can compete against each other in a single race. Depending on the platform, up to eight players can play simultaneously. Racing against CPU opponents can also be done in this mode. The number of races, teams, items, CPU difficulty, can be set to whatever is preferrred by the gamer.
In Battle Mode, there is at least one battle scenario. Battles can be fought as teams or it can be a free-for-all.
In Free Run Mode, the player chooses his character and kart and chooses any course against all opponents.