Wikiracing is a game which the players race towards the goal of traversing from one Wikipedia page to another using only internal links.[1][2][3][4][5] It has many different variations, described further down in the article, and names, including The Wikipedia Game, Wikipedia Maze, Wikispeedia, Wikiwars, Wikipedia Ball, Litner Ball, Wikipedia Racing, and Wikipedia Speedrunning.[6] External websites have been created to facilitate the game.[7]
The Seattle Times has recommended it as a good educational pastime for children[8] 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".[9]
The Amazing Wiki Race has been an event at the TechOlympics[10] and the Yale Freshman Olympics.[11]
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.[12]
As of July 2019, a website and game known as The Wiki Game has been created, allowing players to Wikirace against each other in a server, for more points and recognition on the server. The game achieved more recognition as Internet stars such as Game Grumps played it on their channels. There is a version on the App Store as well, in which players can do a variety of Wikirace styles from their phone.[citation needed]
Variations[edit]
Wikiracing has many different variants, but the two most popular ones are:
Speed Wiki, in which participants compete to reach the finish page (previously concurred upon), within a limited time. The first to reach the final page within the time limit is thereby crowned the winner.[13]
Click Wiki, in which participants race to reach the final page with the fewest clicks or within a certain number of clicks.[citation needed]
See also[edit]
- Six degrees of separation
- Crowdsourcing
- Gamification
- Slacktivism
- Virtual Volunteering
- Volunteer computing
- Wikipedia community
References[edit]
- ^ Whelan, Aubrey (21 July 2010). "'Wikiracing' picking up speed among college students". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ Jones, Ben (20 June 2010). "Latest game for bored students? Wikiracing". Star Tribune.
- ^ Doctoroff, Ariel (22 July 2010). "Want To Waste An Hour (Or Three)? Go On A Wikirace". Huffington Post.
- ^ Colin Hepke (2008). "On Your Mark, Get Set, Wikipedia"! Archived 2012-04-03 at the Wayback Machine Cornerstone 2(3), 8.
- ^ Jones, Ben (8 July 2010). "Students glued to computers turn Wikipedia into a game". College Times. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012.
- ^ Stefan Thaler, Katharina Siorpaes, Elena Simperl and Christian Hofe (2011). "A Survey on Games for Knowledge Acquisition". Semantic Technology Institute International. pgs 14-17.
- ^ Walker, John (10 June 2010). "Searching For Fun: Wikipedia Game". Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
- ^ Stevens, Heidi (14 August 2011). "Zero in on your child's lack of focus"". The Seattle Times.
- ^ Plumez, Jacqueline Hornor (25 September 2008). "The Career Doctor". Larchmont Gazette.
- ^ Denise Smith Amos. "500 teens converge for TechOlympics". Cincinnati Enquirer, 3/5/2010
- ^ Griswold, Alison (11 April 2011). "Saybrook frosh win". Yale Daily News.
- ^ Read, Brock (28 May 2008). "6 Degrees of Wikipedia". The Chronicle of Higher Education.
- ^ "The Wiki Game". Retrieved 4 August 2016.
External links[edit]
- Wikipedia's Wikirace project page
- Wikipedia's Wiki Ladders project page
- Wikipedia Game – Free, multi-player game
- WikiRacer.io – Race your friends in a unique version of this classic game
- WikiRace by Stefan Németh – Wiki-Racing multiplayer supporting 4 different languages
