Wikiracing is a game using the online encyclopedia Wikipedia which focuses on traversing links from one page to another. It has many different variations and names, including The Wikipedia Game, Wikipedia Maze, Wikispeedia, Wikiwars, Wikipedia Ball, and Litner Ball. External websites have been created to facilitate the game.
The Seattle Times 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 and the Yale Freshman Olympics.
The average number of links separating any Wikipedia page from the United Kingdom page is 3.67. Other common houserules such as not using the United States page increase the difficulty of the game.
Variations
Wikiracing has 2 different variations.
The first is commonly known as Speed Wiki in which the participants compete to reach the finish page (previously concurred upon), within a limited time. The first that reaches the final page within the time limit is thereby crowned the winner.
The second is regarded as Click Wiki where participants race to reach the final page with the least amount of clicks or within a certain number of clicks.