Game Theory: How DEADLY Is Super Mario's Bob-Omb?

MatPat acknowledges the channel's success despite dud jokes and drawn-out intros, contrasting this with avoiding repetitive comedy.

After initially planning to analyze Doki Doki Literature Club's prequel, MatPat is redirected by Dominic to focus on Bob-Ombs instead.

Super Mario Bros. 2 was actually a reskinned version of Doki Doki Panic but introduced lasting elements to the franchise including Bob-Ombs, Shy-Guys, and Snifits.

How deadly are Bob-Ombs really, especially when Mario stands just a few feet away from explosions in the games?

Bob-Ombs appear modeled after cast-iron spheres used as ammunition for nearly 600 years between the 14th and late 19th centuries.

• The round bomb design became iconic through editorial cartoons during the mid-19th century, popularized in Harper's Weekly during the Civil War • This visual shorthand stuck in public consciousness and continues to represent bombs in media despite modern bombs looking completely different

Iron spheres were packed with gunpowder and a lit fuse that created an oxidation reaction, producing gas that built pressure until the iron walls burst.

Small iron spheres functioned as hand grenades while larger versions served as artillery shells.

Cannons fire solid iron balls with long barrels at flat trajectories, while mortars have short barrels and high angles to launch explosive shells.

In Super Mario Bros. 3, Bob-Ombs are launched from weapons with short barrels and high angles, matching mortar characteristics.

1841 10-inch siege mortars are nearly identical to the Bob-Ombs depicted in the games.

Real 10-inch shells measured 25.4 centimeters in diameter and contained 5 pounds of black powder, weighing approximately 87.5 pounds total.

Micro Bob-Ombs from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars are roughly 35 percent of Mario's height, placing them at about 54.25 centimeters in diameter.

Using scaled proportions from historical mortars, micro Bob-Ombs would contain 20.5 pounds or 9.32 kilograms of explosive powder.

Black powder contains about 3 megajoules of energy per kilogram, making micro Bob-Ombs produce 28 megajoules of energy or 6.7 kilograms of TNT equivalent.

• Fatal zone extends 4.35 meters or 14 feet, and Mario and gang stand within this radius in-game • Vibrations felt over 80 meters away or 263 feet, equivalent to the length of nine school buses

Original Bob-Ombs from Super Mario Bros. 2 measure 56 percent of Mario's height, making them nearly 3 feet or 1 meter tall.

Contains 38 kilograms or 84 pounds of explosive powder, translating to 113 megajoules of energy or 27 kilos of TNT equivalent.

• Death radius of 23 feet or 7 meters if Mario is anywhere within this distance • Eardrums would burst if not over 90 feet away, equivalent to the distance from home plate to first base on a baseball field

In-game explosions show minimal damage compared to what such a bomb would realistically cause.

Punchinello's mega bomb from Super Mario RPG is the largest bomb in the main franchise, standing twice Mario's height.

Contains 1764 kilograms or 4000 pounds of black powder, generating 5291 megajoules of energy or 1265 kilos of TNT equivalent.

• Fatality radius of 25 meters or 82 feet • Houses within 100 feet would be demolished • Blast felt from over 10 football fields away

The entire mountain would crumble on Mario. Even with a luxury sedan between him and ground zero, he would be killed. Punchinello's only motivation for attacking was to become famous.

Mario Party 9's 'Bombard King Bob-omb' features a super-sized King Bob-Omb standing 8 meters or 26 feet tall, the largest explosive in the entire franchise.

King Bob-Omb is nicknamed the Tsar Bomba of the Mario universe. The actual Tsar Bomba was the Soviet Union's most powerful hydrogen bomb detonated in 1961, measuring 8 meters long and 2 meters wide, making King Bob-Omb larger in size though less explosive.

• Contains 27,562 kilograms or 61,000 pounds of gunpowder • Generates 82,686.92 megajoules of energy or 19,762 kilos of TNT equivalent • Any building within a soccer field span would be destroyed

Anyone less than 200 feet away would be demolished. To escape all effects, Mario would need to run 14,758 feet, equivalent to two-thirds of the Las Vegas Strip or three-quarters the height of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Every Bob-Omb explosion produces shrapnel, tiny fragments of debris fired in all directions from the explosion.

Using Gurney Equations, shrapnel fragments travel at over twice the speed of the world's fastest bullet, spreading in all different directions.

Unlike Bullet Bills which are far less dangerous than depicted in games, Bob-Ombs are genuinely terrifying and cause far more damage in reality than shown in-game.

Bob-Ombs are the deadliest item in Bowser's arsenal. Mario would need to work significantly harder on his throwing arm to survive encounters with them.

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MatPat signs off with his signature 'That's just a theory, a Game Theory' and promises to see viewers next week.