Applying the mathematical principles of Pareto to Mario Kart 8

If you’re the kind of Mario Kart 8 player who cares about winning and not just playing their favorite characters (Daisy and Peach supremacy), choosing the best combination of driver, vehicle, and wheels gets tricky. 

Luckily, thanks to data science and 19th-century Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, there’s a way to figure that out. Data scientist Antoine Mayerowitz applies one of Pareto’s principles, the Pareto front, to plot the best combination among the 703,560 possible decisions players must make in Mario Kart. Eurogamer helpfully explains that a Pareto front finds the best possible solution to a problem with different objectives. 

In a cool piece of data visualization you should definitely check out, Mayerowitz narrows down the possible choices to 25,704. From here, Mayerowitz plots the potential builds on a chart. Starting with the speed factor, the fastest characters are technically Bowser and Wario, but the story is different after adding acceleration to the mix. Some characters are dominated by just speed or just acceleration, but those that aren’t form a curve that’s called the Pareto front, the drivers most optimal if you want to prioritize those two factors. Cat Peach is in the middle of the Pareto front for speed and acceleration.

Next, consider the vehicle build. There are around 585 combinations of karts, wheels, and gliders. Mayerowitz applies the Pareto front concept to this factor and ends up with 14 choices. The best choice from these 14 options depends on which factor the player wants to prioritize. 

However, if, like Mayerowitz, you prioritize speed and acceleration, then the best build is Peach on the Teddy Buggy with roller tires and the Cloud Glider.

See, Princess Peach supremacy. Huh, I guess my method of just playing my favorite character works.