What is the average human reaction time?

For a simple visual stimulus, adults typically average 200 to 300 milliseconds. If you must first decide whether to respond, a choice reaction time, add several tens of milliseconds, and it grows logarithmically as the number of options increases.

Why was I slower than last time?

Reaction time is extremely sensitive to state. Fatigue, caffeine, screen refresh rate, and mouse or trackpad latency can each shift it by tens of milliseconds, so a long-run average is far more reliable than any single result.

What happens if I jump the gun?

An early tap is logged as a failed round, which lowers your accuracy and your score. The waiting intervals on the first two levels are deliberately randomised so that guessing is never worth it, and even a few early taps show up clearly in the final accuracy figure.

Can reaction speed be trained?

Pure nerve-conduction speed has limited headroom, on the order of 10 to 20 percent. What improves more clearly is the recognise-decide-act chain, including choice and inhibition, which is precisely what the harder levels of this reaction time test target.

Is a mouse or a touchscreen better?

Both work. Touch input often has slightly lower latency than a mouse, but from level 6 you must move the pointer to a chosen box, which narrows the gap between the two. What matters most is that you keep using one consistent device for your own comparisons.

Reaction Time Test — Speed and Impulse Control

Be fast, but only when it is actually time to tap

Reaction Speed
Inhibitory Control
Decision Making

Start the challenge → Free · No install · Works on mobile

What this level trains

The reaction time test asks you to hit the target the moment the screen changes colour, then averages your response over many rounds. The easiest level has one rule: tap when it turns green. It measures the pure see-and-act reaction time, which for adults usually falls between 200 and 300 milliseconds.

Going up the eight levels is not about raw speed but about stacking one new demand each time: randomised waiting so you cannot predict, red and green discrimination, pale-green false alarms you must ignore, a response deadline, a two-box spatial choice, and finally rule switching.

Scoring uses a trimmed mean, dropping the fastest and slowest valid rounds before averaging, then multiplies by accuracy. Early taps, wrong targets and misses all count as failed rounds, so spamming taps to look fast never pays off; only fast and accurate earns a high score.

Simple visual reaction time is fairly stable, but the recognise, decide and act chain, including impulse control, is exactly what the harder levels train. Levels 7 and 8 switch the rule to blue-left and yellow-right, so you must read the colour before you move, a genuinely different skill from tapping quickly.

How to play

Fix on the stimulusAfter the set starts, the stimulus area stays neutral and each round waits a random interval before lighting up, so you cannot count beats to predict the exact moment.
Follow this level ruleThe first two levels are tap on green. Levels 3 and 4 ask you to separate the tap and no-tap colours; from level 6 the target appears in one of two boxes, so move the pointer there before you tap.
Never jump the gunTapping before the stimulus appears fails that round outright and drags down both your accuracy and your score, so waiting is always cheaper than guessing.
Read the summaryWhen every round is done you get an average reaction time, an accuracy figure and a grade. If fewer than three rounds are valid, the whole set scores zero.

8 difficulty levels and score thresholds

The eight levels each add one load: simple reaction, resisting prediction, colour discrimination, false-signal inhibition, a limited hold, a two-box spatial choice, rule switching, and a combined high-pressure level. Rounds grow from 5 to 14, thresholds are given as a trimmed-mean reaction time, and from level 6 the need to move the pointer raises the whole threshold by roughly 100 milliseconds.

Threshold basis: Trimmed mean reaction time (you must beat all four columns to the left)
Level	New load added at this level	Full-mark line	Excellent	Good	Pass	Max score	Notes
Level 1	Click as soon as it turns green — the faster the better	252 ms	360 ms	420 ms	510 ms	3000	5 rounds
Level 2	The wait is longer at random — no early clicks	259 ms	370 ms	435 ms	525 ms	4000	6 rounds
Level 3	Green: click. Red: do not click	280 ms	400 ms	470 ms	570 ms	5000	8 rounds · 2 rounds where you must hold back
Level 4	Light green is a false signal — do not click	301 ms	430 ms	505 ms	615 ms	6000	10 rounds · 2 rounds where you must hold back
Level 5	Green shows for only 1.2 s — missing it counts as a miss	308 ms	440 ms	520 ms	635 ms	7000	10 rounds · The stimulus is only lit for 1.2s
Level 6	Two boxes — click only the one that lights up	378 ms	540 ms	640 ms	780 ms	8000	10 rounds · You must move a cursor first
Level 7	Blue → left box, yellow → right box	427 ms	610 ms	720 ms	880 ms	9000	12 rounds · You must move a cursor first
Level 8	Rule switching + false signals + a 1-second limit	476 ms	680 ms	800 ms	980 ms	10000	14 rounds · 4 rounds where you must hold back · You must move a cursor first · The stimulus is only lit for 1.2s

You can only reach the maximum score at or under the full-mark line. Past the pass line the score keeps decaying, down to 0 at twice the pass line. The maximum rises from 3000 to 10000 across the levels.

Tips and common mistakes

Use your whole handResting several fingers near the trigger can save 20 to 40 milliseconds of travel. In a game measured in hundreds of milliseconds, that is a real edge over one pointing finger.
Watch the stimulus, not the pointerTracking your cursor forces an extra round trip to confirm where it is. Keep your eyes fixed on where the stimulus appears instead.
Relax on inhibition roundsTensing up makes a false-alarm tap more likely, not less. Put your attention on judging the colour rather than on physically holding your hand back.
Memorise the switch ruleOn the switching levels, fix blue-left and yellow-right as a single phrase in your mind; reaction times drop as soon as the rule becomes automatic.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average human reaction time?: For a simple visual stimulus, adults typically average 200 to 300 milliseconds. If you must first decide whether to respond, a choice reaction time, add several tens of milliseconds, and it grows logarithmically as the number of options increases.
Why was I slower than last time?: Reaction time is extremely sensitive to state. Fatigue, caffeine, screen refresh rate, and mouse or trackpad latency can each shift it by tens of milliseconds, so a long-run average is far more reliable than any single result.
What happens if I jump the gun?: An early tap is logged as a failed round, which lowers your accuracy and your score. The waiting intervals on the first two levels are deliberately randomised so that guessing is never worth it, and even a few early taps show up clearly in the final accuracy figure.
Can reaction speed be trained?: Pure nerve-conduction speed has limited headroom, on the order of 10 to 20 percent. What improves more clearly is the recognise-decide-act chain, including choice and inhibition, which is precisely what the harder levels of this reaction time test target.
Is a mouse or a touchscreen better?: Both work. Touch input often has slightly lower latency than a mouse, but from level 6 you must move the pointer to a chosen box, which narrows the gap between the two. What matters most is that you keep using one consistent device for your own comparisons.

Related levels

Content updated on 2026-10-03 · Level 3 · Reaction