Reaction Time

Keep still until the panel changes, then tap straight away.

The panel sits still for a moment, never quite the same length twice, and then it changes. That is your cue to tap, as fast as your hand allows. Five clean taps are averaged into one result in milliseconds. Jump in before the signal and it counts as a false start; that try is simply run again.

How to play

Rest a finger near the panel and wait for it to change.
Tap the moment it does. The wait before the signal varies between about one and a bit and three and a half seconds.
A tap before the signal, or so soon after it that nobody could have seen it, is a false start. The try is repeated with a new wait.
If two seconds pass without a tap, the try is marked too slow and you get another go.

Levels and modes

SimpleSimple: one panel, tap when it changes.
Left or rightLeft or right: two panels, tap the one that lights up.
Go or stopGo or stop: tap fast on ‘Tap!’ and hold back on ‘Stop’.

What your result means

Your score averages five clean reaction times, in milliseconds, so a smaller number is better. Beneath it you will find the median, your quickest tap, how many false starts you made and any errors, such as tapping the wrong side or tapping on Stop.

Times depend on your screen and your device. A touch screen, a mouse and a monitor each add their own small delay, so compare your results on the same device rather than between a phone and a computer.

Tips from the tea table

Look at the panel, not at your finger. The change is easier to catch straight on.
Breathe out while you wait. A tense hand jumps early more often than it reacts faster.
In go-or-stop, wait for the word as well as the colour. A held tap on Stop is part of the score.
Play several rounds in a row on the same device before you judge a result; single rounds vary.

Questions

I did see the signal, so why was my tap marked as a false start?

Taps that land less than a tenth of a second after the signal are counted as guesses, because a seen signal takes longer than that to turn into a tap.

Is the wait random?

It changes from try to try. In a daily set or a tea set the waits come from the set’s seed, so everyone gets the same ones.

Can I use the keyboard?

Yes. Press the space bar to tap in simple mode and in go-or-stop. For left-or-right, use the arrow keys, or F and J, to pick a side.

Why is my phone slower than my laptop?

Touch screens and displays add their own delay. That part is not you, which is why results are best compared on one device.

Tea sets with Reaction Time

These sets pour Reaction Time as one of their three cups:

How each kind of task works