First of all, before you do anything it’s a good idea to sit down and plan everything out. Not only does live action Mario Kart present us with a new challenge it also presents us with limitless possibilities, so it can be a bit overwhelming. But as they say with great choices comes great responsibility, so don’t wear yourself out by thinking too hard. Instead let’s take a step back and see if we can’t categorize our choices a bit.

Let’s look at karts first; naturally this is a kart game so karts are a must. A quick Google search will easily reveal the surprisingly large variety of karts that are available. There are endless possibilities from go-karts, to stock cars, to scooters, and even....

Optimus Prime.

There's also a Rolls-Royce of sorts (okay, not really).

This kart is perfect for those high class racers who like to win in style, but let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. As Mario Kart experts will tell you, choosing the right kart is not always enough to guarantee victory. You need to arm yourself properly as well and that’s where items come in.

Items are everywhere, they can be store bought or found around the house. For instance, you might find a banana sitting around in your kitchen somewhere. With a bit of ingenuity that banana can easily be turned into a banana peel capable of slipping up your opponents.

Box turtles, similar to the one in this picture...

...can be purchased at any pet store and strapped to a bandoleer for easy transport. They're small and light-weight making them easy to handle and even easier to throw. Gather a bunch of these guys and get ready to go to town on your friends. As a little tip, if you manage to cover your opponents with a pepperoni pizza these little guys will automatically home in on them.

Strap a rocket to this guy and voila! You’ve got yourself a blue shell (mushroom cloud sold separately). And this is just the tip of the iceberg! There are countless other things you can use to represent items in the game. All it takes is just a little bit of creativity and even something dull like an ordinary household taser could be fun.

Once you have the weapons sorted out it’s time to move on to venues. Obviously, this isn’t Daytona USA so don’t expect anything big. However, there are a number of go-kart tracks throughout Seattle and the greater U.S. of A. Any one of these are perfect for hosting the race of your dreams. Although, if you’re feeling a bit poor after purchasing your very own Optimus Prime go-kart you can always hit the streets out in front of your house. Other options include the interstate highway which, while providing an interesting and unique challenge, also presents a greater risk of becoming road kill. If all else fails then build a course in your backyard. If you run out of room then feel free to use parts of your neighbor's backyards as well (it's all just wasted space, really).

As soon as you have a venue in mind it’s time to move on to the final category of stuff-necessary-to-make-an-authentic-and-real-life-Mario-Kart-experience. The final category is characters. Every Mario Kart game has playable characters and this game should be no different. Obviously, being a Mario Kart game, Mario and Luigi should be considered shoe-ins for this and with a couple of pairs of overalls and red and green shirts their costumes shouldn’t be that hard to recreate. Other characters you can consider, whose costumes might prove a bit more difficult, include; Princess Peach, Toad and Yo Noid.

But with a little bit of ingenuity and creativity you can create any number of possible characters that will truly make your Mario Kart experience that much more unique. The sky’s the limit on this one, mate, so don’t ever let anyone tell you Sonic and Mario can’t be seen in the same game together. If you can imagine it you can do it! ... Well, not really, but it couldn't hurt to try!