MarioKart vs Candy Land

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SPEAKER_4 (1:05)

Brains on Universe.

Molly Bloom (1:09)

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SPEAKER_6 (1:41)

From the brains behind Brains On, it's Smash Boom Best.

Vishal (1:46)

The show for people with big opinions.

Molly Bloom (1:50)

Hi, I'm Molly Bloom and this is Smash Boom Best. The show where we take two things, smash them together, and then ask you to decide which one is best. Today, we've got two colorful competitions. On one side, we have a board game that takes you to a sweet imaginary land, and on the other, an adrenaline pumping video game race packed with whimsy. That's right, it's Candy Land versus Mario Kart.

Here to play his cards for Candy Land is podcast producer Marcel Malekebu.

SPEAKER_1 (2:21)

Candy Land.

Molly Bloom (2:24)

Here to step on the gas for Mario Kart is actor and comedian Brad Milison. Let's go.

Here to decide today's winner is Vishal from Calgary. He plays a lot of Dungeons and Dragons, loves pancakes every Saturday, and is about to start high school. Hi, Vishal. Hello. Let me ask you about this Saturday pancake tradition. Sounds amazing. What toppings do we put on our pancakes?

Vishal (2:51)

As a proud Canadian, obviously maple syrup.

Molly Bloom (2:53)

Obviously.

Vishal (2:54)

Got to get that in there. My mom tried to convince me on strawberries, but I do not really like them on pancakes.

Molly Bloom (3:00)

That's fair.

Vishal (3:01)

And then occasionally we got the chocolate syrup.

Molly Bloom (3:05)

Do we ever put any fillings in it, like chocolate chips or blueberries or anything?

Vishal (3:10)

Not usually. It's just because I've found that it kind of makes it not really taste like pancakes anymore.

Molly Bloom (3:16)

Okay. Fair. Okay. And Dungeons and Dragons.

Do you ever play as a dungeon master?

Vishal (3:22)

I do sometimes, but I've stopped recently because a lot of my friends are just really busy and don't show up a lot.

Molly Bloom (3:31)

Oh, man. That's a bummer.

Vishal (3:33)

So we've kind of transferred from Dungeons and Dragons to Magic the Gathering. Because we play a lot of Magic when we're missing people.

Molly Bloom (3:41)

That makes sense. Okay. So tell me sort of like one of the things that you like about Magic the Gathering that you can't get from Dungeons and Dragons.

Vishal (3:51)

You don't need to keep doing the same game for like a year. You can just play it quickly.

Molly Bloom (3:57)

That makes sense.

Vishal (3:58)

That's like the one bad thing about D&D. It takes a very long time. And if you're missing people, you have to make it take longer.

Molly Bloom (4:05)

Right. So as you guys are getting busier, magic is a more flexible option. Yeah.

Vishal (4:10)

It doesn't really matter who's there as long as there's decks.

Molly Bloom (4:13)

That makes sense. So how would you explain Magic the Gathering to people who have never played before?

Vishal (4:17)

So it's like D&D but a card game. You play down monsters and try to kill people with them, essentially.

Molly Bloom (4:24)

And so like they play a card and you play a card in response?

Vishal (4:27)

Pretty much. Like it changes turns and on your turn you play cards and then you attack.

Molly Bloom (4:33)

I see. And then how many people can play at a time?