On the Dot

Five rounds

On the Dot

Match each time by feel. The clock runs for a second and a half, then it's gone.

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How to play The Research Note

How to play

  1. You're given a target time — something like 7.24 seconds.
  2. Press Start. The stopwatch runs where you can see it for about a second and a half, then fades to nothing.
  3. Press Stop when you believe you've reached the target. There's no clock to watch by then, and no progress bar to ride.
  4. You're scored on how close you came, as a percentage of the target.
  5. Five rounds make a game, and there are five new times every day.

Questions

Is there a new game every day?

Yes. Five new target times appear at midnight Pacific time and everyone in the world plays the same five. The leaderboard resets with them, so a new player can top today's board.

Can I play more than once a day?

As often as you like. Only your best run of the day goes on the leaderboard, so replaying can improve your placing but nobody can fill the board with repeat attempts.

How is the score worked out?

Each round scores how close you stopped as a percentage of the target, so being half a second out costs more on a 5 second target than on a 15 second one. Your score for the game is the average of the five rounds.

What counts as a good score?

Across 2,279 finished games the median score is about 90 percent. The middle half of games land between 82 and 95 percent, and anything above 98 percent is in the top 5 percent of results.

What is the flame next to my score?

Your streak: the number of days in a row you have finished the daily game. It resets if you miss a day.

What is practice mode?

Practice plays exactly the same way but draws random target times instead of the day's five. Nothing from practice reaches the leaderboard or counts towards your streak.

Do I need an account?

No. The game is free with no sign-up. A name is only asked for at the end, and only if you want your score on the leaderboard.