Wikipedia:Wiki Game

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See also Wikipedia:Six degrees of Wikipedia, Wikipedia:Wiki-Link Game,Wikipedia:Wikirace, and Wikipedia:Wikington Crescent.

The Wiki Game is a hypertextual game designed to work specifically with Wikipedia. It was first conceived by a collection of avid Wikipedia enthusiasts at Amherst College in Massachusetts. The Wiki Game requires no purchase of product at all, just a computer, a subscription to Internet access, a web browser, and a time-keeping device (optional). The game is exceedingly popular among high schools, especially New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois where an unofficial league has been set up. The game is picking up interest in Australian high schools, known as the 'Wiki-hunt' or 'Wikiadventure' to those at Girraween.

Contents 1 Objective 2 Setup 3 Procedures 4 The Don'ts 5 Other Thoughts

[edit] Objective

Players (one or more) start on the same randomly selected article and must navigate to another pre-selected article (home) only clicking links within the current article. The goal is to arrive at the home article in the least number of clicks (articles) or time. For one player they can play against their previous time, or previous amount of clicks. This version of single player Wiki Game is known as WikiLadders or WikiClick.

[edit] Setup

1. Use the Random Article link in the navigation box to or have someone else (see procedure 1 for more information) select two random articles. One is the start article and the other is the home article.
2. Navigate all player's browsers to the start article.
3. Purge the history folder of the web browsers.

[edit] Procedures

1. The random selection of pages must be performed by someone other than the player, that is, either an impartial overseer (i.e. referee) or an opponent. Of note, the latter option tends to breed a fun competitiveness between players, where one player tries to pick the most "random" (read: tangential) wiki-links for his/her opponent.
2. A close tally must be kept of the number of clicks used by a player; all selections must be accounted for. Whoever has the fewest clicks wins. The browser history can be used to determine number of articles / clicks.
3. A round in the Wiki Game can be played at one computer terminal, where players take turns, or at multiple computers simultaneously. In the latter option, a "session" begins immediately after everyone loads their randomized Homing Page and ends when the last person returns to his/her Homing Page. NOTE: It is from our experience that rounds with a session consisting of several people require both referees and cooperation between opponents to make sure all are treated fairly.
4. After each round, the history folder of the web browser needs to be purged.

• The game can also be played by seeing who can get to the designated page first, regardless of the number of clicks.

[edit] The Don'ts

Except where otherwise noted, any player breaking these rules automatically forfeits the game.

1. DO NOT use the Wiki search box. You may use the Find option on your browser (Ctrl-F in Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer) to search within the page, but not outside of the currently viewed entry. Also, no other forms of typing are allowed.
2. DO NOT use any of the links outside of the page's contents. The contents of a page are demarcated by gray lines which intersect to make the page box. DO NOT click (for example) "Help", "Donations", "Related changes", "Category:..." etc.
3. DO NOT visit external websites. You must stay within the bounds of Wikipedia.
4. DO NOT use the backspace or back arrow to return to a previous page. History is bunk in the Wiki Game (unless a referee or an opponent demands a recount).
5. DO NOT click on red links, since they obviously lead you to a dead end. PENALTY: Automatic forfeit and mandatory teasing from your opponents.
6. DO NOT do "donuts" -- i.e. retrace your steps after making a bad selection. For instance, a player stumbles onto the Karl Marx page and he/she selects capitalist, then capitalism, then Communist, and finally returns to Karl Marx after finding no useful wiki-links. Donuts are not illegal in the Wiki Game per se, but they are considered "bad form". PENALTY: Lecture on etiquette.
7. DO NOT employ automated search tools to find a path for you.
8. DO NOT edit the page adding your home link.

[edit] Other Thoughts

"One-Can't-Go" rule: Essentially, if you find yourself in a doomed-scenario (i.e. stumbled into a stub with no wiki-links) you are allowed to use one of the Category links at the bottom of an entry (e.g. 1904 deaths or Philosophy). Each player can only use this option once though, so use it wisely.

Time trials: Rather than using the click rules, the winner can be determined by whoever reaches the "Homing Page" in the shortest amount of time. This is easier with two parallel machines, although it should be noted that they ought to have equivalent internet connections.