Wikiracing is a game in which players compete to navigate from one
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free content, free Online content, online encyclopedia that is written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and La ...
page to another using only
internal links
An internal link is a type of hyperlink on a web page to another page or resource, such as an image or document, on the same website or domain. It is the opposite of an external link, a link that directs a user to content that is outside its do ...
. It has many different variations and names, including The Wikipedia Game, Wikipedia Maze, Wikispeedia, Wikiwars, Wikipedia Ball, Wikipedia Racing, and Wikipedia Speedrunning. External websites have been created to facilitate the game.
Wikiracing requires speed, accuracy, and luck. Players must start on a random or chosen page and navigate to another page using only
internal link
An internal link is a type of hyperlink on a web page to another page or resource, such as an image or document, on the same website or domain. It is the opposite of an external link, a link that directs a user to content that is outside its d ...
s.
''
The Seattle Times
''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...
'' has recommended it as a good educational pastime for children 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".
The Amazing Wiki Race has been an event at the
TechOlympics.
The average number of links separating any English-language Wikipedia page from the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
page is 3.67. Thus, it has been occasionally banned in the game. Other common rules such as not using the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
page increase the game's difficulty.
The rules of Wikiracing can be used as a method for studying aspects of Wikipedia.
Variations
Wikiracing has several variations, but here are a few examples :
* ''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.
* ''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
The École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (, EPFL) is a public university, public research university in Lausanne, Switzerland, founded in 1969 with the mission to "train talented engineers in Switzerland".
Like its sister institution E ...
(EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
[.]
See also
*
*
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*
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*
*
References
External links
*
Wikipedia's Wikirace project page
*
Wikipedia's Wiki Ladders project page
*
{{Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Online games
Speedrunning