Guide · 3 min read

WikiRun

WikiRun gives you a start article and a target. You can only travel by clicking links inside the article you are reading, and the fewest clicks wins, with time as the tiebreaker.

Play WikiRun →

1Get from one Wikipedia article to another using only the links inside them.
2Every click counts, and so does pressing Back. Time only breaks ties.
3Head for big hub pages like countries or sciences first, then narrow down.

The basics

Everyone gets the same start and target each day. Read the start article, click a link, and keep going until you land on the target. Search, the address bar and outside links are switched off.

Back works, but it counts as a click and shows up in your route as a backtrack. Your score is your number of clicks, and the clock only matters if two people are tied.

Practice mode deals you fresh races whenever you want, and Party Mode lets a host draw a race for a whole room where the first one home takes the point.

Try it

A tiny version of WikiRun to play with. It is not today's puzzle, so nothing here spoils anything.

Go broad, then narrow

The most reliable route is a funnel. From an obscure start, head for a broad hub article such as a country, a century, a science or a big city. Hubs link to almost everything, so from there you can head down toward the target's corner of Wikipedia.

It is tempting to look for a clever direct link from the start. Sometimes there is one, but it is faster on average to get to a hub in one click than to spend a minute scanning for a shortcut.

Think about the target's links, not just yours

Before you click anything, ask what the target article would link to and what would link to it. A target like a chemical element is linked from chemistry, physics and the scientist who discovered it. Pick the one of those you can reach most easily.

Worked example

A worked race

Start: Pizza. Target: Moon. Nothing about pizza mentions the moon, so do not scan for a direct link. Instead, the pizza article links to Italy, and Italy is a hub.

Italy links to Galileo Galilei, because he is one of its most famous scientists. Galileo's article is full of astronomy and links straight to the Moon. Three clicks, and none of them needed a lucky guess.

Tips worth remembering

1Read the first paragraph and the infobox first. The most useful links are usually there.
2Countries, centuries and sciences are the motorways of Wikipedia. Use them.
3Avoid Back unless you are truly stuck. It costs the same as a link that moves you forward.
4If two links both look promising, pick the more general one. It has more ways out.