November 2023
From November 10 – November 12, 2023, we played Super Mario Bros. Wonder from start to finish. We also had a couple of kids who stayed for the entire weekend, which was a Nick’s Marathon first!
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December 2022
We don’t normally have two marathons in one year, but we were all anxious to get back to our “classic” marathon at James’ apartment in Manhattan. So, from December 2 – December 4, we gamed again! We also took the Hot Ones Challenge, eating buffalo wings that got progressively spicier. (Watch this video to see us suffer!)
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March 2022
After a long delay, we were finally able to have an in-person Nick’s Marathon from March 25 – 27, 2022. For the first time, the marathon was held on Long Island, and the change of scenery didn’t slow us down, as two generations played a wide variety of new and classic video games.
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2020
The 2020 Nick’s Marathon was, like everything else that year, a little different. From November 20 – 22, 2020, we played games together… but apart, from the comfort of our own homes. We had multiple Twitch streams going on at the same time, as we tried to beat as many Super Mario games as we could over one 48 hour stretch.
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2019
From December 13 – 15, 2019, we did what we do best: play a ton of video games, including Super Mario Maker 2 and Luigi’s Mansion 3. James’ balcony was under construction, which made it even more crowded… but even more fun!
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2018
For our tenth annual event, we went big! #NMX ran from November 9, 2018 through November 11, and the marathon was filled with friends and families. We played games like Super Mario Party and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch, and the kids played Nintendo Land on the Wii U for hours (literally.)
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2017
Our marathon gaming session in 2017 went from Friday, November 10th through Sunday the 12th, and was our first marathon to feature the Nintendo Switch, released earlier in the year. We played the just-released Super Mario Odyssey, as well as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Bomberman R. We also went through some 16-bit classics on the SNES Classic Edition, and had a few tournaments on the Wii U with games like Nintendo Land, Super Smash Bros., and Mario Party 10.
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2016
Nick’s Marathon 2016 kicked off on Friday, December 2nd, and was a fun, bleary-eyed weekend of friends, games, and junk food. With our NES Classic Edition, we spent a big chunk of time in full 1980’s mode, with Punch-Out sessions and epic Dr. Mario tournaments. We also played more contemporary games, like:
- Super Mario Maker (Wii U)
- Nintendo Land (Wii U)
- Aegis Wing (Xbox 360)
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2015
In 2015, Nick’s Marathon began on Friday, November 13th, and it was an absolute blast! We played a ton of Super Mario Maker, Super Mario 3D World, Mario Party 10, and plenty of other games that don’t involve Mario, such as:
- Madden NFL 25 (Xbox 360)
- Game + Wario (Wii U)
- Contra III (SNES)
- LEGO Star Wars (Wii)
- Duck Tales (Xbox 360)
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2014
The 2014 Marathon kicked off on Friday, November 21st, ran through Sunday, November 23rd, and it was positively SMASHING. Yes, this marathon was timed with the launch of Super Smash Bros. (and amiibo), so not surprisingly, we spent a lot of our time brawling with each other and trying to unlock as many characters as possible. We also played:
- Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)
- Nintendo Land (Wii U)
- Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
- Jeopardy (Wii)
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2013
The 2013 Marathon took place between Friday, November 22nd through Sunday, November 24th. It was right as Super Mario 3D World came out, and we dedicated a lot of our time to playing that game! We also had a brand new Xbox One, and we took Call of Duty: Ghosts for a spin as well!
In addition, we played:
- Nintendo Land (Wii U)
- The Wonderful 101 (Wii U)
- Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
- Mario Party 2 (Nintendo 64)
- Contra (NES)
- TMNT IV: Turtles in Time (SNES)
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2012
The 2012 Marathon took place between Friday, November 23rd and Sunday, November 25th. It was the first full weekend the Wii U was available, and we spent most of the Marathon playing Nintendo’s latest system. We successfully beat New Super Mario Bros. U once, and came within inches of doing it again when a player accidentally hit the “power” button on the GamePad late on Sunday night. Oops! Here’s what we played:
- New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U)
- Nintendo Land (Wii U)
- Rabbids Land (Wii U)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Wii U)
- Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
- Mario Party 8 (Wii)
- Contra (NES)
- TMNT IV: Turtles in Time (Arcade)
- The Simpsons Game (Arcade)
2011
In 2011, Nick’s Marathon moved from the fall to the winter, and took place from January 21st through the 23rd. We spent most of the weekend struggling to get through Donkey Kong Country Returns, which proved to be far tougher than DKC2, which we had battled with back at the first NM in 2008! Our 2011 games list consisted of:
- Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
- Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Wii)
- Left 4 Dead (XBox 360)
- The Simpsons Game (Wii)
- Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Wii)
- Rock Band/Rock Band: Beatles (XBox 360)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES)
- Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
- Battletoads in Battlemaniacs (SNES)
- Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES)
- Lego Star Wars The Complete Saga (Wii)
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2009
The 2009 Nick’s Marathon started on Friday, November 13 and didn’t end until we *finally* beat New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which had just gone on sale earlier that weekend!
We also played:
- Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Wii)
- Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Wii)
- The Simpsons Game (Wii)
- Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Wii)
- Rock Band/Rock Band: Beatles (XBox 360)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES)
- Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
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2008
The first Nick’s Marathon took place from the night of Friday, October 24, 2008 until late on Sunday, October 26. We were exhausted when we wrapped up—having never attempted such a feat before—but it was worth it!
The games we played were:
- Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES)
- The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure (GCN/GBA)
- Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest (SNES)
- Streets of Rage (Genesis)
- Mario Party 6 (GCN)
- Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
- River City Ransom (NES)
- FIFA 2003 (GCN)
- Super Punch-Out!! (SNES)
- The Simpsons: Hit & Run (GCN)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES)
- Super Bomberman (SNES)
