LEGO Mario Kart: a new paradigm with 72032 Standard Kart

If you have been following Rambling Brick for a while, you will know that I was quite taken by LEGO Super Mario when it was first released. The timed gameplay provided interesting challenges, maximizing the capabilities of the Smart Brick/Mario figure. Each subsequent year saw new environments and new capabilities. I drifted away over the last year or so, with too many other shiny things providing a distraction, but the Mario Kart wave has piqued my interest again.

Mario Kart on the Wii was the game my family first bonded over on the Nintendo Wii, years ago. Fifteen years later, we still play on the Nintendo Switch from time to time. I was keen to try the LEGO version, so I dropped into my store and (delighted to see the set on the shelves on New Years Eve), picked up the 72032 Standard Kart. With 174 pieces, and priced at $AUD29.99/$USD19.99/€19.99/£17.99, it felt like a reasonable price of entry to the theme. But is it enough on its own?

Let’s take a closer look…

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Super Mario Kart and More Animal Crossing revealed at Gamescom

Back on March 10 (Mario Day), the LEGO Group teased next year’s release of LEGO Mario Kart sets. Today, at the gamescom event in Cologne, six new Mario Kart sets were revealed. The new sets will bring a new look to the Super Mario range when they launch on January 1 2025 and will bring some of the relatively under-represented characters from Super Mario to LEGO Form. We will also see the classic Mario Kart course features: ‘?’ block, wheels and banapeels, to name a few.

To add a layer of digital play, fans can also add a LEGO® Mario™, LEGO® Luigi™ or LEGO® Peach™ (figures not included) to the new Mario Kart sets which takes the interactive experience into high gear when putting one of the figures into the driver’s seat. This includes iconic Mario Kart audio and visual effects for race-starting, horn-honking, kart-drifting and gliding sounds from the game. Players can also use these characters to scan Item Boxes, allowing them to collect extra coins and help boost their score as they finish the race!

Lets take a closer look.

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