Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: 12 Tips & Tricks The Game Doesn't Tell You

8. Placement In A Race Dictates Which Power-Ups You'll Get

Depending on how good you've gotten over the years - or especially if you're a newcomer, forever falling down the ranks - Mario Kart 8 has a ton of behind-the-scenes balancing going on that dictates which racers get which power-ups.

If you're way out in front, you'll literally only ever get coins and banana skins (it wouldn't be very fair giving you Ba-Bombs or more Mushroom boosts), whereas towards the mid-tier everything opens up, including homing Red Shells, Green Shells, Mushrooms, Super Stars etc., and at the back of the pack, all Hell breaks loose.

It's back here where you'll get Bullet Bills, Lightning, more Bloopers (ink jets) than usual, and of course, the Blue Shell. It's worth taking note, because in tougher races it can pay dividends to hang back and let the game give you a more effective power-up (providing you have the skill to get back to the front again), before busting it out.

Three consecutive Red Shells can devastate the top five, as can a home straight Lightning bolt, so play more strategically and it'll be you causing those last-minute upsets.