Wikiracing
Wikiracing is a game in which players compete to navigate from one Wikipedia page to another (chosen manually or randomly) using only internal links.[1][2][3] External websites have been created to facilitate the game.[4]
In addition to being an enjoyable game, Wikiracing has proposed benefits as well. The Seattle Times has recommended it as a good educational pastime for children[5] and the Larchmont Gazette has said, "While I don't know any teenagers who would curl up with an encyclopedia for a good read, I hear that a lot are reading it in the process of playing the Wikipedia Game".[6]
The Amazing Wiki Race has been an event at the TechOlympics.[7]
The average number of links separating any English-language Wikipedia page from the United Kingdom page is 3.67. Thus, it has been occasionally banned in the game. Other common rules such as not using the United States page increase the game's difficulty.[8]
The rules of Wikiracing can be used as a method for studying aspects of Wikipedia.[9]
Name
[edit | edit source]It has many different variations and names, including The Wikipedia Game, Wikipedia Maze, Wikispeedia, Wikiwars, Wikipedia Ball, Wikipedia Racing, and Wikipedia Speedrunning.[10]
Variations
[edit | edit source]Wikiracing has several variations such as:
- Speed Wiki, in which participants face off to reach the final page (agreed in prior) in a limited time. The first opponent who manages to reach the goal within the time limit wins the game.[11]
- Click Wiki, in which participants are racing to reach the final page with as few clicks as possible or with a certain amount of clicks allowed.
- Wikispeedia, which has the same rules as the basic wikiracing game, but involves data collection for the Data Science Lab research, a research group of the School of Computer and Communication Sciences of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland.[12] Another Wikiracing game of the same name was created by the Wikimedia Foundation and was released in February of 2025 on social platform Roblox, amassing over 17,000 plays since (August 2025). "Wikispeedia's" objective is similar to other Wikiracing games, although the player are provided with 4 isolated topics to choose from at a time. Winning is determined by time spent as opposed to number of articles clicked.[13]
- The Philosophy Game, where the objective of the game is to reach the "Philosophy" Wikipedia page, and players are limited to the first internal link of each article.
See also
[edit | edit source]- Crowdsourcing – Sourcing services or funds from a group
- Gamification – Using game design elements in non-games
- Six degrees of separation – Concept of social inter-connectedness of all people
- Virtual volunteering – Online volunteering
- Volunteer computing – System where users donate computer resources to contribute to research
- Wikipedia community – Volunteers who create and maintain Wikipedia
- Wiki rabbit hole – Navigating between topics while browsing wikis
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Colin Hepke (2008). "On Your Mark, Get Set, Wikipedia"! Archived 2012-04-03 at the Wayback Machine Cornerstone 2(3), 8.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Denise Smith Amos. "500 teens converge for TechOlympics". Cincinnati Enquirer, 3/5/2010
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ "I Made a Graph of Wikipedia... This Is What I Found" on YouTube
- ^ Stefan Thaler, Katharina Siorpaes, Elena Simperl and Christian Hofe (2011). "A Survey on Games for Knowledge Acquisition". Archived 25 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine Semantic_Technology_Institute_International. pgs 14-17.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]- Wikipedia's Wikirace project page
- Wikipedia's Wiki Ladders project page
- Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
