Name Race

How the Name Race Works

Name Race turns a list of names into racers and lets them sprint, slip and squabble their way to a finish line. Each name gets a racer: a googly-eyed blob, a duck, or one of the vehicles nobody should race in, like a bathtub, a toilet on wheels, a shopping cart or an office chair. Pick one style for everyone, a mix, or a racer for each name.

Up to six names race at a time. Bigger lists run in heats, and the top two of each heat go through to the next round until six are left for the final. A list of 18 names runs three heats and a final. A full list of 50 runs nine heats, three semi-finals and a final. You can watch every race, watch only the final, or skip straight to the winner.

Item Boxes, Pies and Knockouts

Rows of question-mark boxes stretch across the whole track, so every racer runs through one. The box bursts open, the item pops out, and the racer carries it above its name until it's used a moment later:

• Banana peel: dropped behind, sends whoever hits it into a spin.
• Cream pie: thrown ahead, leaves the target wobbling blind for a few seconds.
• Rubber chicken: a slap for whoever is right next to you.
• Bowling ball: rolls down the lane and flattens up to three racers.
• Boxing glove: knocks the racer ahead backwards.
• Rocket and bubble shield: a burst of speed, or a bubble that blocks one hit (it pops after about 7 seconds).

The leader never draws a pie, a bowling ball or a boxing glove, because there's nobody in front to throw them at. It gets peels and shields to defend the lead instead.

Every racer has three hearts. Lose the last one and you're knocked out: launched into the air, seeing stars, and out of action for several seconds. A KO is never the end, though. Racers who fall behind get a small catch-up boost and better items, so a knocked-out name can still win, especially in a long race.

Pick Your Settings

Race length changes the drama too. A Sprint takes about 25 seconds and rewards a quick start. A Marathon runs over a minute, with more items, more knockouts and more time to recover from them.

Cheering: a Nudge, Not a Fix

Tap a racer, or its name in the standings, to cheer it on. Each tap fills a cheer meter, and a full meter gives a short speed boost before it needs a few seconds to recharge. In our tests over thousands of simulated races, a six-racer field gives each name about a 1 in 6 chance, and cheering one name nonstop lifts it to somewhere between 1 in 4 and 1 in 3. A racer you cheer a lot is also a slightly likelier target for other racers' attacks.

Without cheering, every racer has the same speed and the same luck. The lanes are drawn at random, and everyone draws from the same item pool; racers further back just get better odds of the strong items.

The race is a game of chance, so the most useful result is often your own reaction to it. If you groan when a name gets pied out of first place, that name matters to you. For a decision that's all yours, try the Name Showdown. For a quick random pick, spin the name wheel.

Common Questions