The History of Rapid Races

Where It Started

Rapid Races began in the 1980s on a Commodore 64, written in the BASIC language. The “graphics” were colored dots crossing a blank screen. The player tapped the spacebar to push their dot toward the finish line, while three CPU-controlled dots advanced on a simple coin-flip randomized timer. Primitive? Sure. But for a young teenager discovering code, it was magic.

That tiny experiment proved an idea could come alive on a screen. It lit a passion for computers and creativity that never faded.

A Modern Revival

Decades later, Rapid Races has been reimagined for the web: vehicles and characters replace dots, taps turn into tactical boosts and hazards, and head-to-head races scale to modern multiplayer. The concept remains the same—tap, race, and win—but now with polish, progression, and a growing world of racers and events.