How to Get Into Speedrunning

Speedrunning, the art of completing a game as fast as possible, turns familiar games into deep, endlessly rewarding challenges of skill, knowledge, and practice. It is a thriving hobby, but newcomers can feel unsure how to begin. This guide shows you how to get into speedrunning, improve your times, and enjoy the challenge, so you can experience the deep satisfaction of mastering a game and shaving seconds off your runs rather than feeling lost about how people play so fast and where to even start.

Pick a game you love

Speedrunning takes repetition, so pick a game you love. Choosing a game you enjoy and know well makes the many repeated runs a pleasure rather than a chore. Players often share advice on community sites such as ankertoto, where speedrunners compare routes, but the key is to pick a game you love, since you will play it a great deal. Picking a game you love, and one you are happy to play many times, is the foundation of getting into speedrunning and keeping it enjoyable.

Learn the game deeply

Speedrunning rests on knowledge, so learn the game deeply. Understanding the game's mechanics, levels, and quirks lets you find faster ways through. Rather than running blindly, study the game. Speedrunning rewards deep knowledge. Learning the game deeply, and coming to know its every mechanic and level intimately, is central to speedrunning and the foundation of fast runs, since the time you save comes from knowing the game well enough to play it optimally rather than merely competently.

Learn the route

Speedruns follow routes, so learn the route. Studying the established fast path through a game, and the order of objectives, is central to running it quickly. Rather than improvising, learn the optimal route. Speedrunning communities develop efficient routes worth learning. Learning the route, and following the fast path others have worked out, is central to speedrunning and the quickest way to improve your times, since a good route saves far more time than raw execution alone and gives you a clear plan to practise and refine.

Practise the hard parts

Runs have tricky sections, so practise the hard parts. Drilling the specific tricks and sections that trip you up improves you faster than only running the whole game. Rather than only doing full runs, practise your weak points. Speedrunning rewards targeted practice. Practising the hard parts, and drilling the tricks and sections you struggle with, is central to improving your times and the most efficient way to get faster, since consistent execution of the difficult bits is often what separates a good run from a great one.

Use a timer and track your times

Speedrunning is about times, so use a timer and track them. Timing your runs and recording your progress lets you measure improvement and spot where to gain time. Rather than running without measuring, track your times. Speedrunning is built on timing. Using a timer and tracking your times, and seeing where the seconds are won and lost, is central to speedrunning and the way you turn vague effort into measurable progress, giving you clear targets to beat and a satisfying record of how far you have come.

Be patient with improvement

Speedrunning takes time, so be patient with improvement. Accepting that shaving time off a run comes gradually, through practice, keeps the hobby rewarding. Rather than expecting fast mastery, improve steadily. Speedrunning rewards persistent practice. Being patient with improvement, and understanding that better times come gradually through repeated runs, is central to speedrunning and the mindset that keeps it enjoyable, since the satisfaction lies in the steady climb of your personal best rather than instant greatness.

Join the community

Speedrunning is social, so join the community. Connecting with other runners of your game, sharing routes and tips, and following the scene enriches the hobby. Rather than running in isolation, engage with the community. Speedrunning communities are welcoming and full of knowledge. Joining the community, and learning from and sharing with other runners, is central to speedrunning and a large part of its appeal, since the shared knowledge, rivalry, and camaraderie make the hobby far richer than running alone ever could.

Enjoy mastering the game

The heart of speedrunning is mastery, so enjoy mastering the game. The deep satisfaction of knowing a game intimately and executing a fast, clean run is uniquely rewarding. Rather than only chasing times, savour the mastery. Speedrunning turns a game into a craft to master. Enjoying the mastery of a game, and the satisfaction of a run well executed, is what getting into speedrunning is truly about and why its community finds the pursuit so deeply, lastingly rewarding.

Common questions from players

How do I start speedrunning? Pick a game you love, learn it deeply, and learn the established route. Choosing a game you enjoy and following the community's fast path is the easiest way in.

How do I improve my times? Practise the hard parts, use a timer to track your times, and learn where seconds are won and lost. Targeted practice and measured progress get you faster fastest.

Do I need to be amazing at games? No. Speedrunning rewards knowledge and practice as much as raw skill, and improvement comes gradually. Be patient, and the steady climb of your personal best is where the satisfaction lies.

Getting into speedrunning, in short

Follow the steps above and the genre opens up. For more guides, see our games section, and the blog gathers recent writing.