FAQ

WikiBattle is a competitive WikiRace game. Starting from a random (or chosen) Wikipedia article, players race to reach a target article by clicking links inside articles — no searching, no back button. First to reach the target wins the round.

Click Play from the main menu. Enter your name and click Create Lobby to host a game, or enter a 4-letter code and click Join to enter a friend's lobby. The host sets the start and target articles and clicks Start Game when everyone's ready.

After creating a lobby, use the 🔗 Link button in the waiting room to copy a direct join link. Or share the 4-letter room code — friends enter it manually on the Play screen. Links open the game with the code pre-filled.

Yes. Check the Solo time trial option when creating a lobby. You can start immediately without waiting for anyone else, and race against your own time with no opponent needed.

Up to 4 players per lobby. Best of 3 and Endless modes support 2–4 players free-for-all. Teams mode requires exactly 4 players split 2v2.

Three rules: 1. Click only blue links inside Wikipedia articles to navigate. 2. No back button — every click is a commitment. 3. No in-game search (Ctrl+F / Cmd+F) unless the host has enabled it. First to reach the target article wins the round.

The host types in a start and target article and searches for them — a small autocomplete helps. There's also a Random button next to each field to pull a random Wikipedia article. Joiners can suggest articles during the Limbo screen between rounds.

Limbo is the screen between rounds where players wait for the next round to start. The host sees the round setup controls. Joiners can suggest articles — either the same pair again or a new one — and the host can accept a suggestion or set their own. Scores are shown and a full replay of the winner's path plays before Limbo begins.

Optional. The host sets it in game setup: 2, 3, 5, or 10 minutes, or no limit at all. If the timer runs out before anyone finishes, no one wins that round — it's a draw. Rounds with a time limit are good for hard article pairs.

Only if the host explicitly enables it. There's an Allow Ctrl+F in-game checkbox in the lobby setup. When checked, all players in that game can use browser search. It's off by default — using it is widely considered cheating in WikiRace.

There is a 30-second reconnect window. If a player refreshes or loses connection, they have 30 seconds to reload the page and automatically rejoin. Their spot is held. If the window expires, the session ends.

• Best of 3 — First to win 2 rounds wins the series. Standard competitive mode.
• Endless — Play round after round until the group votes to stop. Great for long sessions.
• Teams — Two teams of two. First team to win 2 rounds wins. The host assigns players to teams in the waiting room.
• Tournament — Up to 5 rounds. Most wins when voting to end takes the trophy — great for groups of 3–4.

During the Limbo screen in Endless mode, players see a Vote to End button. Once enough players vote, the series ends and final scores are shown. No one player can force the game to end alone.

Coins are awarded at the end of each round based on performance — winning faster earns more. Losing rounds gives a small consolation amount. You can also earn bonus coins from power-up draft picks between rounds.

Tap the 🪙 icon during a race to open the shop. Spend coins on power-ups you can deploy against opponents. You can buy up to 2 of each power-up. Coins carry between rounds for the duration of the series.

• Language Flip — Switches your opponent's article to a random language (Spanish, French, Italian, or Russian).
• Fog of War — Hides all the links on your opponent's screen for the duration.
• Shrink — Shrinks your opponent's article text down to near-unreadable size.
• Scramble — Scrambles the text of every link in your opponent's article so they can't read them.
• Invert — Inverts all colors in your opponent's article.
• Earthquake — Makes your opponent's screen shake violently.
• Hyper Scroll — Your opponent's scroll goes haywire for 10 seconds.
• Shield — Absorbs the next attack directed at you.
• Swap — Swaps your current article with an opponent's. Risky but can be devastating.
• Peek — Instantly reveals where your opponent currently is in Wikipedia.
• Reverse — The next attack sent at you reflects back to the sender.
• Coin Doubler — Doubles all coin earnings for the rest of the game. (Passive — applied immediately on purchase.)

Power-ups appear as buttons along the bottom of the screen during a race. If you have one, the button is lit. Click it to activate — most power-ups are targeted, so you'll pick which opponent to hit. The number on each button shows how many you have.

Shield blocks the next incoming attack. It activates automatically — as long as you have one when an opponent targets you, it absorbs the hit. A shield notification appears on screen when it triggers.

Reverse works like Shield but sends the attack back. If an opponent fires a power-up at you while you have a Reverse active, the effect lands on them instead. It triggers automatically, same as Shield.

Peek shows you the title of the article your opponent is currently reading — a snapshot of where they are in their path. It doesn't affect them at all, just gives you information to strategize with.

Emotes are quick reactions you can send to other players during a race. They appear as floating bubbles over player slots in the HUD. There's a short cooldown between uses so they can't be spammed.

Yes. Wikipedia covers all topics — including violence, death, and other sensitive subjects. WikiBattle displays articles exactly as Wikipedia serves them and does not filter content. Be aware of this, especially when playing with younger audiences.

WikiBattle works in a mobile browser, but the layout hasn't been optimized for small screens yet. Mobile support is on the roadmap. For now, desktop is strongly recommended for the best experience.

Yes. WikiBattle is free to play with no accounts, no ads, and no paywalls. It's in Pre-Alpha — features and modes are still being built.

Use the 🐛 Found a bug! button in the bottom-right corner of the game screen. Your report includes a full session log automatically, which makes tracking down bugs much faster. Don't hesitate — reports really help.