Track

Tracks, also known as rails, are objects found in many Mario games, debuting in Super Mario Bros. 3. They are paths drawn in the air on which objects - most commonly Lifts, but including other objects such as ? Blocks and enemies - travel. They can form closed loops, closed paths (where the object reverses direction on reaching the end) or open paths (where the object leaves the track to either fly onto another track or simply fall).

History
Tracks first appeared in World 1-6 of Super Mario Bros. 3, in which they are always found with a Lift connected to them, and unlike untracked Lifts, these ones move along the set path; some of them (like the first two in World 3-2) only start moving once Mario or Luigi jumps on them. If the track has an endpoint, the Lift will go back the opposite direction once it reaches it. If there is none, the Lift will fall right off.

Starting from Super Mario World, enemies and obstacles (such as Fuzzies and Chainsaws) started appearing on tracks, behaving similarly to Lifts.

In certain 3-dimensional games, such as Super Mario 64, tracks are represented by a broken chain of Keronpa Balls that disappear once passed.

In the Wario Land series, tracks appear in Wario Land 4 and Wario Land: Shake It! infrequently, working as they have in past titles.

In Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World, parallel pairs of tracks hold Switchboards, as well as the Fuzzler enemy. Singular tracks still sometimes have Fuzzies on them.

Tracks also appear in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, primarily in the level Platform Problems.

Tracks can be also used as objects in Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS. They can be produced in eight directions, and can be made into one-way paths when connected to each other as is, or loops when connected back to the start. If the player places an object on a track, it will move along the set path. The direction in which the object moves initially can also be set. On a non-looped path, once an object reaches the end, it will go back the other way; however, tapping on one of the two endpoints will make it disappear, causing any objects that reach the end to fall off the track instead. If the player shakes a track, it will make it rounded. Doors and large-scale objects such as Mushroom Platforms and Warp Pipes cannot be placed on tracks. Objects placed on tracks almost never interact with untracked objects, with the exception of Mario and most enemies. For example, if blocks of any variety are placed on a track and derails off of it, it will pass through ground and untracked blocks, but will collide with an enemy and kill them, including Bowser Jr. and Bowser but not Boos and Bloopers.

Tracks return as course elements in Super Mario Maker 2. Some tracks can have their position changed by using ON/OFF Switches.

Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS

 * Digital manual description: "Select Track from the palette, and then touch the screen to lay it. Tracks can be laid in up to eight directions. The directions you can lay a track in will be displayed as dots to be joined. Drag an enemy or other element onto the track, and it will move along the path you've created. Tap the end point of a track to switch it between the returning- and dead-end types."