Speedrunning
Beat games so fast the developers would cry
Complete video games as fast as humanly possible using optimized routes, glitches, and frame-perfect execution. Speedrunning turns familiar games into completely new challenges. The community is welcoming, the competition is friendly, and watching your time drop second by second is wildly satisfying. Every run teaches you something new.
How to start
- 1Pick a game you already know well — shorter games (under 30 minutes) are ideal for beginners
- 2Watch the current world record run on Speedrun.com to see what's possible
- 3Learn the basic route: what to skip, what order to do things, and key tricks
- 4Do your first timed run — don't worry about time, just finish using the route
- 5Use LiveSplit (free timer software) to track your splits and see where you lose time
What you'll need
- A game to speedrunEssentialFree
- LiveSplit timer software (free)EssentialFree
- Game controller (for console-era games)Nice to have~$25
- Capture card for recording runsNice to have~$30
Where to learn more
Plot twists
Ways to spice this up when the basics get boring.
- Speedrun a game blindfolded (yes, people do this)
- Try a randomizer speedrun where item locations are shuffled
- Race a friend through the same game simultaneously
- Attempt a 'low percent' run — beat the game collecting as little as possible
- Create a speedrun of a non-game (like ordering food online as fast as possible)
Each run is short and gives you a concrete time to beat — pure measurable progress. The micro-improvements are addictive, and resetting is instant, so there's zero downtime.
The speedrun for Super Mario Bros. has been optimized so thoroughly that the current world record is under 4 minutes and 55 seconds for the entire game.
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