Best answer: In order to unlock ranking in Mario Kart Tour you'll need to complete the Yoshi Cup. Ranking will automatically become available after that.
- I'm-a gonna win!: Mario Kart Tour for iOS (Free to start)
- Let's-a start!: Mario Kart Tour for Android (Free to start)
How do you unlock Mario Kart Tour?
When you first create an account and start playing Mario Kart Tour, you'll have a few tutorial and preliminary courses to complete before you can really start competing against other players. It should be noted that this app doesn't actually allow you to race against other players, but it does give the appearance of racing against other players by assigning user names to AI. However, you can compare your scores against others online and see how well you rank.
In order to unlock the ranking feature you'll need to finish the Yoshi Cup, which is the third cup in the game following the Mario Cup and Donkey Kong Cup. Each cup has four courses you need to complete so that means you'll have to play through 12 courses before you can unlock ranking. Additionally, playing through a course allows you to earn Grand Stars, which are needed in order to unlock Cups. The better you perform on a track the more Grand Stars you'll earn from playing it.
You'll need to have earned five Grand Stars from previous courses in order to access the Yoshi Cup. Within Yoshi's Cup you'll find Yoshi Circuit, Daisy Hills, Cheep Cheep Lagoon, and Do Jump Boosts challenges. It's only after you've completed these four courses that a notification will pop up letting you know you've finished the Yoshi Cup. Ranking will automatically become available after that.
How does ranking work?
Whenever you complete a race you earn points based on the tricks you've performed and the place you finished at. The better you rank in these cups, the higher up the tier chart you'll go. This means that as you progress you'll be ranking against more challenging players and it will become harder to move up. Everyone's scores are compared at the end of a rank period and you'll be told how well you did overall.
Something to note is that not all cups feature ranking. However, the ones that do will show a ranking icon on the screen. You'll want to perform your best in these courses to propel yourself upward in the global ranking system.
If beating other players isn't enough to get you excited then you should know that you also receive rewards if you rank high enough in your tier. For example, getting first place gives you 20 rubies, 1,000 coins, three driver points, three kart points, and three glider points. This, in turn, allows you to purchase new karts, items, or drivers either by entering the Shop or by firing a Pipe.
Will racing against other players be a thing in the future?
Nothing is certain, but it looks likely that Nintendo will eventually make it possible for players to actually race against each other within Mario Kart Tour. At present, the most competitive you can get is comparing your ranking scores against others. You can also add friends and compare your scores to see which of you is the best racer. If racing against other players does become a thing, we'll be sure to update this information.
Mario Kart for your smartphone
Race on several familiar and new courses as your favorite Mario Kart characters. As with previous games, you use weapons and items to get ahead of the competition. See how well your scores stack up to other players online.
