About PageRacer

PageRacer is a free browser game that turns Wikipedia into a racetrack. You start on one article, you're given a target article, and you have to get there using only the links on the page.

No search box, no back button, no typing the answer into the address bar. Just you, a page full of blue links, and whatever you happen to know about how the world is connected. Fewest clicks wins, and the clock breaks ties.

HOW A RACE WORKS

1. You spawn on a start article. It might be something small and specific, like a single animal, an invention or a town.
2. Your target sits in the top bar. It's usually something big and well known, like a planet, a famous person or a whole country.
3. Click a link to move. Every click counts. The links work exactly like they do on Wikipedia, but you can only follow links to other encyclopedia articles.
4. Land on the target to finish. Your route, click count and time appear on the results screen, ready to share.

Here's what a good route can look like:

The clock only runs while an article is on screen. If Wikipedia is slow to load the next page, you don't lose time for it.

GAME MODES

Daily Race

Every day at midnight UTC there's one new course, and it's the same for everyone on the planet. Finish it, enter your three initials like an old arcade cabinet, and see where you land on the day's high-score table. Your first finish of the day is the one that counts. After that you can replay for practice.

Free Ride

A random start and a famous target, as many times as you like. Good for warming up, or for discovering corners of Wikipedia you'd never have found on purpose.

Party

Race your friends head to head. One person hosts a room for up to four racers and shares a six-letter code or an invite link. Rooms can be private, joined only by invite, or public, listed for anyone to jump into. Before each round the host picks the course:

• Random: a random start and a well-known target.
• Themed: both ends from one theme. Themes include space, music, food, history, movies, games, animals and sports.
• Custom: the host chooses any two Wikipedia articles.

Hosts can add a time limit of three, five or ten minutes. During the race you can see where each rival is and how many clicks they've used.

SCORING

In every mode, the fewest clicks wins. If two racers use the same number of clicks, the faster time wins. In a party, each round awards points by finishing place:

Points carry across rounds. The racer with the most points when the host ends the party is the champion.

TIPS FROM THE GRID

• Get big fast. Small articles have few links. Jump to a broad hub such as a country, a continent, a century or a field of science as soon as you can.
• Think about the target's neighbours. Ask what pages would obviously link to your target, then head for one of those instead of the target itself.
• Read the infobox. The panel at the top right is packed with high-value links like countries, dates, people and categories of things.
• Check the end of the article. "See also" sections often point straight at closely related topics.
• Don't over-read. In a close race, scanning for one good link beats reading the whole page. Visited links turn purple, so you can tell where you've already been.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Is PageRacer free?

Yes. There's nothing to buy and no account to create. The site may show ads to cover running costs.

Does it work on phones?

Yes. PageRacer works in any modern browser on phones, tablets and computers, and party rooms can mix all three.

Is PageRacer part of Wikipedia?

No. PageRacer is an independent game and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Wikipedia or the Wikimedia Foundation. Articles are loaded live from Wikipedia and shown under Wikipedia's licence. Every page you race through is the real, current article.

Why can't I use the back button?

Because that's the game! Committing to a link is part of the challenge. If you take a wrong turn, find a way out from where you are.

Can I suggest a theme or report a broken course?

Yes, please do. Email hello@aandosconsulting.com.

CREDITS

Article text and images come from Wikipedia and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Images may carry their own licences, shown on each image's page on Wikimedia Commons. The look of PageRacer is a love letter to early-1980s vector graphics and the arcade cabinets of the 1990s.