Time Stop
A digital timer counts up — your challenge is to stop it exactly on the target number. Press Stop at precisely the right moment to earn a Perfect, Great, Good, or Miss rating.
5 rounds per game. Each round sets a new target. Train your reaction timing and aim for a Perfect score on every round.
How to Play
- Press Start to begin the countdown timer
- Press Stop when the display matches the target number
- Perfect: ≤30ms off · Great: ≤80ms · Good: ≤200ms · Miss: further away
- Use the +/− buttons to adjust the target before starting
About This Game
Time Stop is a deceptively simple game about one thing: your internal sense of time. A timer counts up and you have to stop it at exactly the target number. No tricks, no enemies, no obstacles — just you and the clock. It's harder than it sounds, and the precision feedback (PERFECT / GREAT / GOOD / MISS) makes every attempt feel distinctly different from the last.
Why We Built It
We were curious whether players could genuinely improve at time estimation through repetition — and the answer turns out to be yes. The millisecond accuracy display gives immediate, concrete feedback on each attempt, which creates a tight learning loop. Setting the target yourself before pressing Start adds a layer of intention: you commit to a number, then try to fulfill it.
How It Works
The timer increments using the browser's requestAnimationFrame timestamp, measured in milliseconds. When Stop is pressed, the elapsed time is compared against the target value. The accuracy threshold for each rating — PERFECT (≤30ms), GREAT (≤80ms), GOOD (≤200ms) — was tuned through playtesting to feel achievable but demanding. Five rounds are measured per session and a final summary shows your overall accuracy.
Tips & Strategy
- Don't watch the timer number while it's running — look at it only briefly at the start, then shift to counting internally. Watching the numbers creates visual lag in your reaction.
- On the first round, try to undershoot slightly. You can calibrate in later rounds based on how early or late your result was.
- Tap with the same finger in the same position each time. Grip and input method affect your personal reaction time consistency.
- Use the +/− buttons to target a round number (like 3.00 or 5.00) — round targets are easier for your brain to "hear" internally.
Ideas for Improvement
- Personal best tracking — localStorage storage of your average accuracy over multiple sessions.
- Moving target — a version where the target changes each round so you can't build muscle memory for a single number.
- Two-player mode — both players set a target and whoever is closer wins the round.
- Calibration tool — a pre-game measurement of your personal reaction time used to adjust thresholds fairly.