Speedrunning takes a game you might have finished years ago and turns it into a fresh, deeply personal challenge: how fast can you get to the end? It rewards curiosity, patience and practice far more than lightning reflexes, which makes it one of the most welcoming corners of gaming to start in. You do not need expensive gear, a powerful PC or a competitive streak. You just need one game you enjoy and the willingness to play it a little more thoughtfully each time. This guide explains what speedrunning is and how a complete beginner can start.
What Speedrunning Actually Is
At its heart, speedrunning means completing a game, or a chosen part of it, as quickly as you can. Runners time themselves from a set start point to a set finish, then try to shave seconds off with every attempt. The appeal is not beating other people first and foremost. It is beating your own previous best, known as a personal best or “PB”, and slowly understanding a game so deeply that you know exactly what to do at every moment.
That depth is the real draw. A casual playthrough might take twenty hours as you wander and explore. A polished speedrun of the same game might take under an hour because the runner has worked out the fastest path, the most efficient way to handle each section, and where a little risk pays off. Getting from the first to the second is a long, satisfying process of learning, and every small improvement feels earned.
Categories: Not Every Run Is The Same
One of the first things newcomers discover is that a single game can be run in many different ways, each with its own rules and its own leaderboard. These are called categories, and they let you pick a style that suits you:
- Any percent, written “any%”. Reach the end by any means allowed, as fast as possible. This often uses shortcuts and tricks and tends to be the fastest category.
- One hundred percent. Complete everything the game considers “full” completion, such as collecting all items. Longer, more thorough, and great if you love a game deeply.
- Glitchless. No use of glitches, which are unintended bugs in the game’s code. This keeps runs closer to how the game was meant to be played.
- Individual level or stage. Race through a single level rather than the whole game, which is perfect for beginners who want short, repeatable attempts.
Starting with a shorter category or a single level is the friendliest way in. You get more attempts per hour, learn faster, and see progress sooner than you would grinding a multi-hour run from day one.
Choosing Your First Game
The best first speedgame is almost always one you already love and know. Familiarity means you start with a head start, and affection means you will not mind replaying it dozens of times. Beyond that, a few qualities make a game beginner friendly to run:
- It is reasonably short, or has a category that is. Quick runs mean quick learning.
- It is consistent. Games where the same inputs give the same results are easier to practise than ones that lean heavily on randomness.
- It has an active community, so guides, route notes and friendly advice already exist for you to learn from.
- It runs on gear you own. You do not need anything special to begin. A phone, console or modest PC is plenty.
Do not agonise over picking the “optimal” game. The point is to learn the craft, and the craft transfers. Your first game is a training ground, not a lifelong commitment.
Learning To Route And Practise
A “route” is the plan for your run: the order you do things, the path you take, and the specific techniques you use at each point. Working out or learning a route is where speedrunning gets genuinely absorbing. You will rarely need to invent one from scratch as a beginner. Communities publish route notes, and many runners share detailed explanations of how a run is put together.
The practical loop looks like this. Learn a small section of the route. Practise it until it feels smooth. Add the next section. Repeat. Rather than attempting the whole run badly, you build it piece by piece. Many games and add-ons let you practise a single tricky part on repeat without replaying everything before it, which saves enormous time.
Expect to be slow and messy at first. Every runner was. The magic of speedrunning is watching a section that once felt impossible become second nature after enough repetitions. That sense of mastery, not raw talent, is what keeps people hooked.
The Simple Kit You Need
Part of what makes speedrunning so accessible is how little it demands. Here is a plain comparison of what is essential versus what is optional.
| Item | Do you need it? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A game you enjoy | Essential | The whole hobby rests on it |
| A timer | Essential | Free timer apps handle this perfectly |
| Community route notes | Strongly recommended | Saves months of trial and error |
| A way to record runs | Helpful | Reviewing footage reveals lost time |
| A capture card or fancy PC | Optional | Only matters if you stream later |
A free timer and a game you like are genuinely enough to start today. Everything else you can add if and when you want to.
Finding Your Community
Speedrunning is far more social than it looks from the outside. Communities gather around individual games to share routes, celebrate personal bests, welcome newcomers and troubleshoot tricky tricks. Joining one turns a solo hobby into a supportive group project, and it is the single fastest way to improve. Ask questions, watch how experienced runners handle a section, and share your own progress. Most communities are delighted to help a genuine beginner.
If you enjoy the community side and the buzz of measuring yourself against a standard, you might also enjoy local gaming tournaments in Singapore, which offer a different but related kind of friendly competition. And because speedrunning rewards deep knowledge of how games work, our piece on game preservation and backwards compatibility is a natural companion, since runners often keep older games and hardware alive.
Keeping It Healthy And Fun
Speedrunning can be wonderfully absorbing, which is a strength and a small trap. Grinding the same section for hours is part of the fun, but your body and mind still need care. Take regular breaks to stand, stretch, and rest your eyes and wrists. Drink water, sit with decent posture, and protect your sleep, especially before school or work the next day. If frustration builds after a failed attempt, and it will, stepping away for ten minutes almost always helps more than pushing through in a temper.
For most people this is a healthy, rewarding hobby. But if it ever starts crowding out sleep, studies, relationships or basic self-care, or feels hard to control, that is worth taking seriously, and you can speak to a GP, a school counsellor, a trusted adult or a service like TOUCH Cyber Wellness. This is general information, not medical advice.
The Bottom Line
Speedrunning turns a finished game into an endlessly rewarding puzzle of shaving off seconds. Pick a game you already love, choose a short category or single level, lean on community route notes, and practise section by section with a simple timer. Progress comes from patience and repetition, not raw talent, and every personal best is genuinely yours. Start small today, and enjoy watching the impossible slowly become routine.