Wikipedia:Wikirace

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

A Wikirace (IPA: /ˈwɪ.ki.rɛɪs/) is a race by as many people as you wish, using wikilinks to travel from one Wikipedia page to another. The first person to reach the destination page, or the person that reaches the destination using the fewest number of links, wins the race.


The WikiRacing logo, as standardised by the BWRA.
The WikiRacing logo, as standardised by the BWRA.

Contents

[edit] How to Wikirace

To Wikirace, first select a page off the top of your head. Using "Random page" works well, as well as the featured article of the day. This will be your beginning page. Next choose a destination page. Generally, this destination page is something very unrelated to the beginning page. For example, going from apple to orange would not be challenging, as you would simply start at the apple page, click a wikilink to fruit and then proceed to orange. A race from Jesus Christ to Subway (restaurant) would be more of a challenge, however. For a true test of skill, attempt Roman Colosseum to Orthographic projection. Once you have selected a beginning page and a destination page, the race begins and the first person to reach the destination page wins. Finally, the racers are usually located in the same room, to be sure that no one has cheated.

[edit] Rules

  • Clicking year wikilinks is not allowed. They make it too easy to travel between pages, as Wikipedia asks page creators to have years as wikilinks.
  • Disambiguation pages are allowed to be used.
  • Obviously, editing your beginning page to have a link to the destination page is not allowed. Not only does this defeat the point of the race, but it will anger other Wikipedia users.
  • A player may or may not use the "Back" button or any other feature of their browser which would allow them to view a Wikipedia article and then back-track to the previous one when one doesn't find the link that they were hoping for. Again, make sure everyone in the Wikirace is clear on the rules. Some games allow the use of the "Back" button but count this as a link clicked.

[edit] Optional

  • Using a browser's find option. Just make sure everyone in the Wikirace knows whether the find command is allowed or not.
  • Not using geographical locations makes the race longer and more challenging.

[edit] Good Target Pages

  • ECDL - Evil to find when not using categories. Requires going totally off topic to reach.
  • Charlotte Dacre - Several links, but they're almost all years!
  • Goderich Airport - Nearly impossible, requires either going completely off topic, or using some mad wiki geography skills, scanning across Ontario.
  • Mashimaro - Very hard to find, especially since all of the obvious topics don't link to it.
  • Mother insult - Almost impossible
  • Keyhole - Seems quite easy at first glance, but not linked to anything obvious.
  • Utility pole - Has almost no links to it but it is possible.
  • Preparation H - Avoid searching this one in very public places.
  • Hot Pockets - Very hard, indeed.
  • IAR Systems - Nearly impossible, as there are nearly no links to it.
  • bananaman - Yeah speaks for itself.
  • Leawarra railway station, Melbourne - Go try this one, I think it's almost impossible!
  • Fu Manchu - not impossible, but very difficult without using back arrows.

[edit] Helper Pages

[edit] Easy Pages

  • Sports athletes, teams, and events (such as Johnny Damon, Chicago Blackhawks or the Super Bowl) are incredibly easy to access, by taking nearly any link that has a connection with the United States. From the United States there is a section on sports, and many popular sports are accessible from there.
  • Music bands, artists, and albums are easily accessed by use of United States. There are links leading to music from the music section of the page, and all genres/subgenres imaginable are on that page.

[edit] Alternate - Point Based Rules (Wik's Degrees of Separation)

  • This version is designed to be played via message board or email.
  • Start at Main_Page.
  • Your starting point on this page is the FIRST link in the FIRST news item under "In the News".
  • Your ending point is the FIRST link in Today's Featured Article.
  • Beginning with your starting link, you must navigate links within Wikipedia in order to reach Today's Featured Article .
  • No editing pages to aid your advancement for this or future contests (though pages may always be edited for content where required).
  • No linking years.
  • 5 points are added for each page you link too beyond the first and not counting the final page (so each page in between is 5 points).
  • 25 points are added for returning to a previously viewed page either through backspace or the series of links.
  • On a one point per minute basis, add the total time it took you to the point total.
  • Fewest number of points wins. (NOTE: Post your starting link and your point total. The individual with the fewest points will post their links afterward for validation.)

[edit] Online racetracks

Wikirace.org is the first wikiracing website. It is the free wikipedia racetrack for wikiracers. Wikiracing is made exciting at this website by giving players points for every race they finish and every record they break. At Wikirace.org players cannot edit articles which will ensure no workarounds. Year links, date links, category pages, list pages and few disambiguation pages are disabled to make races interesting. Players can create their own races. The races will be available for play after they are approved.

[edit] Strategies

Wikiracing usually consists of two distinct strategies (not including random clicking). The first method is called the "Gate" or "Portal" method. When using the Gate method, one tries to locate a link to an article with a wide range of possible wikilinks contained in it. For example, the article on the United States is a good Gate, as it has multiple wiki links that can help you redirect to a new article that is somewhat relative to what you are looking for.

The second method, and more popular, is called the Background method. In this method, you apply all knowledge of the article you are looking for in order to find relative links. For example, if one was searching for Walt Disney, knowing where he was born (as background information) could help find more articles to search for that would, in turn, lead to your designated page.

The 'disambiguation route' relies on the destination page having multiple meanings or interpretations. For example, a race to 'fan' could have different routes, either looking for "someone who has an intense appreciation for something(s) or someone(s)" or "a device to agitate or move air or other gas" then using the disambiguate feature to choose the correct page.

[edit] External links