As I had hoped I got a chance today to play a game with my brother-in-law Jim and his sons Ian and Alex. I was expecting we'd play Carcassonne or another German game, or maybe a Cheapass game. Instead we ended up playing MarioKart DoubleDash on the boys' Gamecube. I had played the original MarioKart with Sue MecKinney when it first came out for the SuperNintendo. I sucked at the original and I haven't gotten any better since, let me tell you. Still, it was a fun game to play. The character and vehicle choices are fun and the tracks are well designed. Maybe some tracks have a little too much water and/or lava for my skill level, but I still enjoyed the gameplay. Playing MarioKart further solidified my opinion that if I were to ever get a new(er) console it would have to be a Nintendo product. I just love the little Italian plumber and his madcap adventures too much.