Mushroom Cup

The Mushroom Cup (transliterated as Kinoko Cup on one occasion ) is a tournament cup in Mario franchise spin-offs, most notably appearing as the first and easiest cup in the Mario Kart series (later alongside the Shell Cup). It is represented by a Super Mushroom.

The tracks in this cup are the least challenging in the game and often begins with a circuit other than Mario Circuit. They have few hazards and gimmicks, few turns, and are the shortest in every game. In addition, most games usually include a beach-themed course.

Completion rewards in the Mario Kart series
Winning the Mushroom Cup in the Mario Kart series can award the player with various bonuses, depending on the game. Additional cups unlocked are excluded from this list.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

 * 50cc Mushroom Cup: Green Fire
 * 100cc Mushroom Cup: Rattle Buggy
 * 150cc Mushroom Cup: Luigi's Mansion
 * Mirror Mushroom Cup: Toadette Kart

Mario Kart DS

 * All nitro cups (includes Mushroom Cup) on 50cc: Dry Bones
 * All nitro cups (includes Mushroom Cup) on 100cc: Three karts for each playable character
 * All nitro cups (includes Mushroom Cup) or all retro cups (excludes Mushroom Cup) on 150cc: Seven karts for each playable character
 * All cups on 150cc: 150cc Mirror class
 * All nitro cups (includes Mushroom Cup) or all retro cups (excludes Mushroom Cup) on 150cc Mirror: R.O.B.
 * All cups on 150cc Mirror: All karts for each playable character

Mario Kart Wii

 * Mushroom and Flower Cups: Star Cup
 * 1 star rank or higher on all nitro cups (includes Mushroom Cup) on 50cc: Baby Daisy
 * 1 star rank or higher on all nitro cups (includes Mushroom Cup) on 100cc: Sneakster
 * 1 star rank or higher on all nitro cups (includes Mushroom Cup) on 150cc: Dry Bowser
 * All cups on 150cc: 150cc Mirror class
 * 1 star rank or higher on all cups on 150cc Mirror: Rosalina

Mario Kart 7

 * All cups on a single cc class: Mii
 * 150cc Mushroom Cup: Daisy
 * All cups on 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc: 150cc Mirror class

Mario Kart 8
Most unlockable characters in Mario Kart 8 are unlocked at random upon winning Grand Prix cups (separate cups must be played to unlock characters), which includes the Mushroom Cup. Characters that can be unlocked include Rosalina, Metal Mario, Lakitu, Toadette, Baby Rosalina, Pink Gold Peach, Iggy Koopa, Roy Koopa, Lemmy Koopa, Larry Koopa, Wendy O. Koopa, Ludwig von Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr., and Mii. Mii is unlocked upon the eighth Grand Prix cup victory, unless an amiibo is used to unlock Mii beforehand.

In addition, the Gold Standard body can be unlocked by getting a 1 star rank or higher on all non-DLC cups (including the Mushroom Cup) on any one engine class, and the 150cc Mirror class can be unlocked by winning all 150cc cups.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

 * 1 star rank or higher on all cups on 150cc Mirror: Gold Standard
 * All cups on 200cc: Gold Mario

Other appearances
Not only is this cup in the Mario Kart series but also in other Mario sports games like Mario Power Tennis and Mario Superstar Baseball. In Super Mario Strikers, the Mushroom Cup has four teams and three rounds. When the player places in the top three, the Flower Cup and the Konga Coliseum are unlocked. A similar cup is the Super Mushroom Cup. In Mario Sports Mix, it's the first cup to be played in the tournament.

The Mushroom Cup also makes an appearance in Mario Tennis Open as the first tournament of the World Open. It is played on the Mushroom Valley court, and the CPU difficulty is the easiest in the World Open. The cup is the only one to be unlocked from the start, and matches for this tournament have one set each for the starting round and semifinals, and three sets for the finals.

The Mushroom Cup reappears as the first cup in the COM Tournament mode of Mario Tennis Aces.

Trading Card info
"Long-time Mario Kart fans may experience déjà vu when checking out the first two tracks of the Mushroom Cup. Luigi Circuit looks a lot like Luigi's tracks from other Mario Kart games and Moo Moo Meadows harkens back to Moo Moo Farm. But rest assured, the layouts are new."

Trivia

 * Through all of the games, Mushroom Cup has never had a snow or ice-themed course.
 * All of the Mushroom Cup courses from Mario Kart 7 have reappeared as Classic courses in Mario Kart Tour, and have been available since the game's launch.
 * All of the Mushroom Cup courses from Mario Kart 64 have reappeared as Retro Courses exclusively in handheld Mario Kart games: one in Mario Kart DS, and the remaining three in Mario Kart 7.