Mario Kart DS is the latest game in a long string of Mario Kart titles, and it is easily the best in the series. It is wrist-crampingly fun and impossible to put down. It is silly, and goofy, and challenging, and frustrating, but even when it is frustrating it is still a delight. So here is some plain advice for you, which will, if you follow it, make you happy for months to come:

The moment Santa sets up his castle in your local shopping centre, go sit on his knee and tell him Mario Kart DS is what you want this year.

You are welcome.

If you are new to this business of Mario Kart, you will need some background. The series stars the famous moustachioed plumber, his brother Luigi, his girlfriend Peach, and all the rest of the gang from the aptly-named Mushroom Kingdom. Wario is here, and so are Donkey Kong and Bowser and Toad and the rest. They are a cheerful and appealing bunch even in terrible games, but here, pitted against each other in fierce, violent go-kart-racing action, they become utterly transcendant. They are great. If they were made of flesh instead of pixels you would give them many high-fives.

Anyway. Mario and his friends (and enemies) like to drive go-karts really fast. Because the Mushroom Kingdom is a place where wishes tend to come true, there is an expertly-designed race track hiding nearly everywhere you look. There is one on the beach, and there is one in the snow, and there is one on the mountain, which may itself be made of solid chocolate. There is one that goes right through a haunted house and into a swamp, which is dotted with walking trees. If you are among the sensible people who begin to feel tired and sad at the mention of the words “Gran Turismo,” you will find much to love in this little game.

When you first switch it on, you have the option of racing in time trials or in something called “Grand Prix” mode, which involves competing for points over a series of races. Grand Prix mode is the best. The bitter rivalries that spring up between you (at #2 in the standings) and the leader are magical, even if the leader is just a bit of software. Probably this is because winning a race is a matter of considerably more than being the quickest driver. All these little go-karts are equipped with serious arsenals, and the tracks themselves are dotted with little rainbow-coloured boxes full of ammunition.

So part of the time you drive, and part of the time you throw exploding tortoise shells at the other drivers. Part of the time you drop banana peels on the tricky haripin turns. Part of the time you cast magical spells that bring lighting down from the sky to, er, disable the electrical systems of your opponents' go-karts. That sounds dorky, yes it does, but try it once and you will spend the rest of your day re-living that delicious instant over and over.

So as a single player experience it's a delight. But when you allow your DS to connect to a wireless network, the thing approaches the limits of the pleasure possible with a hand-held device, even counting the Hitachi Magic Wand. The setup process is easy and quick, and before you've had the wrapper off for five minutes you're racing against some kid from Japan, who is in Japan right now, and meanwhile you're lounging in your bathtub. Or in Starbucks. Or any other place they've got a wireless-B network running.

Human opponents are smarter than the software, and they're more relentless with the banana peels. You will hate them, in a good way. This is one of the best games of the year.