Mario Kart World rarely lets you play classic 3-lap races online, but players have found a workaround to avoid the divisive intermission tracks altogether

Mario Kart World players have found a way to avoid the Switch 2 launch game's slightly divisive intermission tracks while racing online.

Mario Kart World's big, new gimmick this time around is its wide open map. In Free Roam, you can explore off-road completely, but the sort-of open world also creeps into classic races, too. Knockout Mode, for example, has 24 players race from one track to the next with no interruptions whatsoever and is one of the most outrageously funny 10 minutes you can have in a game this year.

But fans aren't enjoying the new, in-between tracks half as much in regular online races. Here, you'll complete one track, wait in a free-roaming lobby while everyone votes on the next, and then head to the race along an intermission track – a long road that connects one track to the next.

The problem is that these intermission tracks make up the bulk of online races – sometimes taking up four out of five checkpoints – and by the time you actually reach your destination, the one that everyone voted for, that is, you're only allowed to race through it once. Basically, say goodbye to three-lap tracks in online.

I don’t think that the intermissions are as bad as people think they are however this is a funny image. from r/mariokart

Fans have found one workaround, though. Simply vote for a "Random" track in between races – if a random one gets picked, then you'll be popped in to a classic three-lap race without needing to drive to it first.

In fairness, some multi-biome intermission tracks are really wonderful, pushing you from a spaceport to a long stretch of wavy waters to, finally, a giant castle. It's just that some Mario Kart World players don't want them in every game mode.

"I've been playing World a decent amount this afternoon and I'm happy to say that in my opinion Nintendo have created some great tracks for this game," one Redditor writes. "BUT that's pointless because you only drive on them for 20% of the race and the other 80% is just a boring drag race between tracks. I mean most players in the lobbies are now voting for random because it guarantees a normal race without intermissions, but eventually everyone will do this and that just makes voting pointless." Hear, hear.

In the meantime, here's the full Mario Kart World roster and the 15 best Switch 2 games to play right now, as well as our Switch 2 review if you're still considering whether or not to buy Nintendo's new console.