Here's How to Play Mario Tennis Aces for Free on Nintendo Switch

Anyone for tennis? Nintendo's making it easy to get a little racquet time with Mario and his friends. If you're a Nintendo Switch Online subscriber, you can download and play Mario Tennis Aces free of charge from August 7 through 13.

Mario Tennis Aces' free week is part of Nintendo's "Game Trials" program which, as the name suggests, lets you try a game before you commit to buying it. In that vein, if you try out Mario Tennis and decide it's your cup of tea (or can of tennis balls), you can purchase it on the Nintendo Switch eShop for 30% off between August 7 and 30. You can also carry over any progress you make during your Game Trial period.

Mario Tennis Aces started life as a perfectly average Mario Tennis game, but Nintendo's since added new characters and new moves in addition to performing mechanical tweaks. Oh, and lest we forget, last April's 3.0 update added an origin story for the game's evil tennis racquet, Lucien. You will be shocked, shocked to learn Wario and Waluigi are responsible for unleashing evil, sentient sporting equipment upon the world.

Though a Nintendo Switch Online subscription isn't costly, Nintendo's offered scant bonus offerings for subscribers. Game Trials and the recent addition of a rewind feature for Switch Online's retro catalogue are nice additions. Here's hoping we see more. I'm especially hopeful Game Trials is updated regularly with new titles for us to play and consider. There are lots of games worth sampling, and the holiday season will bring plenty more.