Racing

A race is a competition of speed. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed.

Race to cover a certain distance may be any length, and using any means stipulated by the rules. Running a distance is the most basic form of racing, but races are often conducted in vehicles, such as boats and cars, on or with animals such as horses and in aircraft.

A racing game is any game that involves competing in races through a surrogate playing piece or vehicle, either getting it from one point to another or completing a number of circuits in the shortest time.

Olympic traditions

Since the modern games were founded, it has become a tradition for the men's Olympic marathon to be the last event of the athletics calendar, with a finish inside the Olympic stadium, often within hours of, or even incorporated into, the closing ceremonies. This tradition was further enhanced by a much older tradition in the 2004 Summer Olympics, as the long-established route from Marathon to Athens ended at Panathinaiko Stadium, the venue for the 1896 Summer Olympics.

A racing game is any game that involves competing in races through a surrogate playing piece or vehicle, either getting it from one point to another or completing a number of circuits in the shortest time.

• Many board games can be said to be racing games, such as Snakes and Ladders, Cribbage, or Formula Dé.
• There are also toys made for racing, like slot cars and radio controlled cars.

One of the more common uses of the term racing game is to describe a genre of computer and video games. Racing games are either in the first or third person perspective. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings, and feature any type of land, air, or sea vehicles.

In general, they can be distributed along a spectrum anywhere between hardcore simulations, and simpler arcade racing games.