Rollerbeetle Racing is perhaps one of the great things in Guild Wars. That's why mini-games and activities in Guild Wars 2 are of a big interest to me. Looking at it, isn't it awesome to play a game within a game? You get to see what the game engine can do outside of farming enemies. Arena Net agrees with me:

Activities offer us an exciting chance to engage in one of a designer’s favorite pastimes: breaking things. These mini-games let us use the existing rules and mechanics of Guild Wars 2 in different and interesting ways, or they let us throw the established mechanics out the window entirely for the sake of creating something new!

That's a pretty strong statement when a developer actually talks about loving to break their own games. I find it to be impressive in two parts. The first being the desire to actually do something more impressive than regular combat. The second being that this kind of desire works well for squashing bugs.

The bar brawl is, quite literally, all about downing an ale and breaking the empty bottle over someone else’s head. Ales come in several different flavors, each conveying different effects when consumed—for example, Grenth’s Grog goes down easy but comes up rough, allowing the player to belch out a noxious gas cloud. As you might imagine, this burp cloud is unhealthy to anyone foolish enough to get close, as well as unattractive to prospective dates. “Guild Wars 2 is about having fun, first and foremost. We have created such a wide range of content and activities that you can find something to do regardless of your play style or mood.”Be careful when imbibing ale!

The biggest thing in this reveal is the introduction of the Bar Brawl and the details surrounding it. It looks to be a free for all battle where you can use the environment (remember the discussion about environmental weapons?) and your fists to take down everyone else. It sounds like a real fun yet competitive sport. In addition to the bar battle there appears to be a shotting range and snowball fights.

You can read more about activities in Guild Wars 2 over at the official blog.