Have you ever watched someone finish a game you spent forty hours on in under twenty minutes? It looks like magic, or maybe cheating. It’s neither. It’s speedrunning, a hobby where players race to complete slot as fast as possible, often by bending the rules of the game itself.
What started as a niche corner of the internet has grown into a huge community with charity marathons, live races and dedicated players chasing records measured in fractions of a second. And here’s the best part: anyone can start.
What Speedrunning Really Is
At its core, speedrunning means completing a game, or part of a game, as quickly as possible under a specific set of rules. Runners time their attempts and compare them on public leaderboards.
It combines several skills:
- Execution: performing tricky movements and inputs perfectly.
- Routing: planning the fastest path through a game.
- Knowledge: understanding mechanics, enemy behaviour and shortcuts.
- Consistency: doing all of that reliably under pressure.
The appeal is part puzzle, part sport. Runners are constantly discovering new ideas, refining routes and pushing what seemed impossible a year earlier.
Categories and Rules
Speedruns are divided into categories so runners compete fairly. Each game’s community defines its own rules, but common categories include:
Any%
Reach the end as fast as possible by any means allowed, often skipping huge chunks of the game.
100%
Complete everything the game requires for full completion, such as every collectible or objective.
Glitchless
Finish quickly without using glitches or exploits. These runs focus on clean execution and smart routing.
Low% and Challenge Categories
Finish while collecting as few items as possible, or under other self-imposed restrictions.
Rules also cover timing methods, platform versions and allowed settings. Before running a game, read its leaderboard rules carefully. They save a lot of confusion later.
Glitches, Routes and Practice
Glitches are often the most jaw-dropping part of a fast run. Players might clip through walls, skip cutscenes, trigger later story events early or move faster than the developers intended.
Discovering these tricks is often a community effort. One runner finds an odd behaviour, others experiment, and eventually it becomes part of the standard route.
Practice is where runs are really built. Most runners don’t just attempt full runs over and over. Instead they:
- Break the game into segments, sometimes called splits.
- Practise the hardest sections repeatedly using save states or specific save files.
- Track their best time for each segment.
- Attempt full runs once individual sections feel consistent.
Honestly, the first time I tried a speedrun trick, it took me two hours to land it once. The runner I was learning from did it every single attempt. That gap shows how much practice goes into the clean runs you see online.
The Community Side
The hobby is surprisingly collaborative for a competitive pursuit. Runners share routes, publish guides and help newcomers learn difficult tricks. Many game communities have dedicated chat servers where people discuss strategies and celebrate new personal bests.
Charity marathons are a highlight. Runners from around the world showcase slot live, often explaining tricks as they go, while viewers donate to good causes. They’re also an excellent way to discover games you might want to run yourself.
Live races add another layer of excitement. Seeing two or more runners attempt the same game side by side, reacting to each other’s mistakes and comebacks, can be as tense as any esports match.
Starting Your First Run
You don’t need to chase world records. Most runners compete mainly against themselves, chasing a personal best. Here’s how to begin:
- Pick a game you love and know well. You’ll be playing it a lot.
- Find its leaderboard and read the category rules.
- Watch a few top runs and guides to understand the route.
- Download a free timer tool that tracks splits.
- Do a full run without worrying about time, just to set a baseline.
- Practise one difficult section at a time and watch your splits improve.
Shorter games are often great starting points because attempts don’t take long and improvement shows quickly.
Don’t be discouraged by gaps between your times and top times. Every expert started with a slow, messy first run. The joy of speedrunning comes from watching your own numbers fall, one segment at a time.
FAQ
Is speedrunning considered cheating?
No. Glitches and tricks are allowed within each category’s rules. Using cheat tools or modified game files is generally banned from leaderboards.
What is the Any% category?
Any% means finishing the game as fast as possible by any allowed method, regardless of how much content is completed.
Do I need special equipment to start speedrunning?
Not really. A copy of the game, a free timer tool and patience are enough. Recording software helps if you want to submit runs.
Speedrunning turns games you already know into brand new challenges. Once you start seeing shortcuts everywhere, you’ll never look at a familiar level the same way again. Grab a timer, pick a favourite, and chase that first personal best.