Wiki Race

An all-digital race through Wikipedia using only smartphones. Begin by picking a starting and ending article, then follow only links found within Wikipedia articles to try to get from the start to the finish with the fewest number of clicks. You may like this if you like trivia or puzzle games.

The Junk You Need

1 smartphone, computer, or tablet per player
(must be connected to the internet)

How to Play

Setup:

Sit around a table with your digital devices in front of you so that everyone can see what’s on your screen.
As a group, decide what will be your Starting Article and what will be your Ending Article.

NOTE: I recommend picking two common things that everyone knows about (i.e. “Meteor” and “The Beatles”), but if you’re feeling stuck, you can use this Wikipedia Random Page Link or the daily articles for “The Wiki Game” to help you decide.

If anyone is unfamiliar with the Ending Article, they can take a quick look at its page before going to the Starting Article.
Have each player navigate to your agreed Starting Article on their phone. Make sure it’s displaying the same page content for everyone before you start. Don’t start scrolling through or reading about it yet.

phones go face up in front of you while you navigate to the Starting Article

Playing the Game:

Count down to “GO” together (like “3, 2, 1, GO!”).

On “GO,” start looking through the Starting Article to find a link to click through to the next article, aiming to eventually get to a page that links to your Ending Article.

FOR EXAMPLE: if your Ending Article is “The Beatles,” you might look for links that relate to music or England to follow a consistent theme toward the Ending Article.

Only navigate by using the page links within the article. Continue clicking links to take you toward the final article.

NOTE: You CAN use the back button if needed, but you cannot use the page search tool or navigate directly using a URL.

Feel free to talk as you play — it’s fun to hear what paths the other players find themselves on.

Winning:

The first player to click through to the finishing article wins.

As soon as you get to the article, shout “DONE!” — everyone can take a look at your device to make sure you got where you’re supposed to be.

After the game, it can be fun to talk through the winning path, and to see where other players ended up based on the links they followed.

Notes and Sources:

Original “Wiki Game” concept by Alex Clemesha.
Rules written by Carol Mertz.

There’s a bunch of different ways to play that are outlined on the Wiki Game’s Wikipedia page, funny enough. Feel free to try it with other rules to suit your group!