DeKALB – The first Mario Kart Monday event of the year allowed students to slam the breaks on stress and hit the gas toward some fun. 

All NIU Students who enjoy playing Mario Kart are welcome to join Mario Kart Mondays in Altgeld Hall, Room 100 every month for free. Whether you’re looking to make friends or spend time with ones you already have, Mario Kart Monday is open to more people to join in on the games. 

Alex Kramer, the assistant director of Esports at NIU, was checking players in and over watching all of the fun. Kramer helps steer players into the right direction of the excitement. 

“On our NIU Esports social media pages and our Discord, we post a calendar of monthly events, ranging from pickup games to events like Mario Kart Mondays, so keep an eye out on our social media for when the next Mario Kart Monday will be,” Kramer said.  

While preparing to start his first round Riley Godshall, a junior accounting major, said he stopped by because he was curious about how Mario Kart Monday would play out. 

“I really enjoy playing the game. I haven’t played it for a while because I don’t own a Switch, so the fact that they have the equipment here is really nice,” Godshall said. 

Jazmine Link, a first-year elementary education major, spoke after one of her many intense races.

“A lot of people come to play (Super) Smash (Bros.); but Mario Kart is also a really fun game if you suck at fighting games because I don’t think there’s really any other racing games that people play, period.” Link said.

Altgeld Hall is the home to NIU’s ESport arena where rows of computers and gaming systems line the walls. The many gaming systems allow for many different casual gaming events like Mario Kart Mondays or tournament style events with games like Rocket League and League of Legends. 

If you’re more of a driver and not a fighter looking to blow some steam out of your exhaust, stay tuned for the next Mario Kart Monday on the Esports Event Calendar.