MIDDLEBORO — Riley Naegle isn’t old enough to have a driving license, but she is still a formidable opponent behind the wheel.

On Friday, Feb. 23, a large group of children gathered at the Middleboro Public Library to compete in a Mario Kart tournament. The event was organized by a company called One Up Games, which organizes video game events across the east coast.  

Mario Kart is “very competitive, but it’s a friendly competitive,” explained One Up Games Co-Founder Peter Dekant. “There’s a really big social aspect to it. We see a lot of kids who are kind of introverted come together at an event like this, and they open up and start talking.”

Naegle said that Mario Kart was a racing game with “different courses” where players “use a controller to steer.”

“It’s a race,” Naegle explained. “So you try to race people and win the race.”

Despite the simple premise, there are a number of complex tactics that players use to win the game. 

While traveling along the virtual racetrack, players can collect items such as banana peels or mushrooms that they can use on their own car or on their opponents’ cars. Banana peels can cause opposing players to lose control over their car, while players use mushrooms to make their car go faster for a short period of time. 

Naegle said that her strategy is to follow behind her opponent's car, collect items, and then use the items to charge ahead to win the race. “I find it useful to not try to follow your opponents directly,” she added, explaining that she tries to keep distance between her opponents to make it easier for her to collect items. 

“It's fun to play with other people,” she said.