The Complete Beginner's Guide to Speedrunning
Speedrunning looks impossible from the outside. It isn't. Here's how to pick a game, learn a route and shave off your first seconds.
On this page (6 sections)
Speedrunning is the art of finishing a game as fast as possible. It sounds simple, and in a way it is — but it's also one of the deepest, most rewarding ways to play. The good news: you don't need superhuman reflexes to start. You need curiosity, patience and a timer.
Pick the right first game
Choose a game you already love. You'll be replaying the same sections dozens of times, so enjoyment matters more than anything else.
A few things make a game beginner-friendly:
- Short runs. Anything under 30 minutes lets you practise full attempts often.
- An active community. Leaderboards, guides and friendly Discord servers make learning much faster.
- Consistent mechanics. Games with little randomness let you focus on execution.
Understand categories
Every game has categories — rule sets that define what counts as a finished run. The most common are:
- Any% — finish the game by any means necessary.
- 100% — complete everything the game tracks.
- Glitchless — no unintended exploits allowed.
Start with the most popular category for your game. It will have the most resources and the most people to compare notes with.
Learn the route
A route is the planned sequence of actions that makes up a run. Watch the current top runs and take notes. Don't try to copy every trick immediately — learn the safe version first, then replace sections with faster strategies as you improve.
The fastest runners aren't the ones who never fail. They're the ones who practise the hard parts until failure is boring.
Practise in segments
Full runs are fun, but segment practice is where improvement happens. Break the game into splits and drill the section that costs you the most time. Many games have practice tools or save states that make this easy.
Time yourself properly
Use a split timer so you can see exactly where you gain and lose time. Compare each attempt with your personal best and celebrate small wins — a two-second improvement is a real improvement.
Share your first run
Submit your time to the leaderboard, even if it's slow. Everyone starts somewhere, and the community is usually thrilled to see new runners. Your first submission is the beginning of a very fun rabbit hole.
