1. Go broad before you go narrow
The single most important idea: from the start article, jump to a hub — a large, general article that links to thousands of others. Countries, continents, centuries, and broad fields like Biology, Music or World War II are classic hubs. From a hub, you can almost always find a path toward any target.
2. Work backwards from the target
Before your first click, ask: which big articles would mention the target? A footballer is linked from his club and national team. A chemical element is linked from the periodic table. A painting is linked from its artist and the museum that owns it. Now you have a destination for step two and only need to reach that hub.
3. Read the infobox first
The box on the right of most articles is a cheat sheet of high-value links: country, birthplace, genre, parent company, taxonomy. It is usually faster to scan than the article body and full of hubs.
4. Use geography as a universal bridge
Almost everything happens somewhere. People are born in cities, companies have headquarters, species live on continents, events take place in countries. When nothing else connects, route through a place.
5. Use Ctrl+F on long pages
On a long hub article, press Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on Mac) and search for a keyword related to the target. It's allowed on WikiRace Online and saves a lot of scrolling. Not sure what else is fair? Read what counts as a WikiRace cheat.
6. Avoid these click-wasting mistakes
- Going too specific too early. A tiny article has few outgoing links and traps you.
- Following the literal word. A link to "Apple" might be the fruit, not the company.
- Backtracking reflexively. Back costs a click. From a mediocre page, there's usually a forward link just as good.
- Ignoring the hint. If you don't know what the target is, read its summary first.
Best hub destinations for a Wikipedia speedrun
Strategies 1 and 2 meet in the middle: pick the hub that is most likely to link to your target, then find a way to that hub. These are the hubs that work for the most common kinds of target.
| Target is a… | Head for |
|---|---|
| Person | Their country, their field (Physics, Basketball, Painting) or their era |
| Animal or plant | Its family or order, the continent it lives on, or Biology |
| City or landmark | The country, then the region or the capital |
| Food or drink | The country it comes from, Agriculture or Cuisine |
| Company or product | The country of its headquarters, or the industry (Automotive industry, Video game) |
| Event | The century or decade, then the country where it happened |
| Everyday object | Its material or use (Plastic, Tool, Furniture); hubs rarely link to the generic word |
Generic targets like Airplane or Avocado are the hardest, because hubs link to a specific model or variety instead; several of the hardest routes end on one. For targets of every kind to practise on, see the WikiRace ideas and topics list.
Practice your Wikipedia speedrun
Every route here opens in WikiRace Online, which times you and counts your clicks. Put the strategies to work on these: Pizza → Albert Einstein, Penguin → Eiffel Tower, Chess → Volcano. For dozens more sorted by difficulty, see WikiRace ideas; for a real test, try the hardest WikiRace routes, and check how the top players solved previous daily challenges.
FAQ
What is the average number of clicks between two Wikipedia articles?
Most pairs of popular articles are connected in three to four clicks. Research on the Wikipedia link graph finds the typical shortest path between random articles is around four to five links.
Why is the United States article so useful?
It is one of the most linked-to and link-rich pages on English Wikipedia, so it connects to almost every topic: states, presidents, companies, sports, music and history.
Can you really win in one or two clicks?
Sometimes. If the start article mentions the target directly, it's one click. Scan the infobox and first paragraph before clicking anything.