Wikipedia:Wikipedia is a game
 | This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
Wikipedia is a game.
Essentially, Wikipedia is an implementation of the game and metagame called Nomic. The definition of winning the game is particular to each player, and the definitions of "winning" are many and varied. Some are permitted by the rules of the game; some are forbidden. Changing the rules to advance the acceptance of a definition of winning, whether positively or negatively, is part of the game itself, and players may choose to include that in their gameplay - or ignore it completely.
Ways of winning the game of Wikipedia include:
- Making Wikipedia the best encyclopedia ever
- Casually filling little gaps in articles to help out fellow readers
- Being the vanguard of a knowledge revolution that will transform the world
- Broadening article coverage as much as possible
- Tightening article coverage to only things which really matter
- Recording a particular fact that you care about
- Removing a particular fact that you dislike
- Removing things which aren't real
- Documenting something you're a fan of in huge detail
- Fixing lots of little things
- Finding a satisfying way to spend your free time
- Meeting people who share your interests
- Collecting hats or shiny badges
- Making a number go up
- Advancing a theory
- Promoting the company that you work for
- Annoying people for momentary fun
- Annoying people as a hobby
- Helping someone you like or dislike to get or not get power
- Defining the game by writing essays about it
If you're reading this, you're probably already playing. Good luck!