How to play Perceptle

A round of Perceptle is five short tests played in a fixed order. Before each one you get a single instruction; there is no time pressure until you press Ready. Here is what each test asks, how it is judged, and a tip from experienced players.

Count

After a three-second countdown, a cloud of dots appears for exactly two seconds and disappears. Enter your estimate on the number pad. The error is your miss divided by the true count. Tip: do not try to count one by one — split the field into quarters, estimate one quarter and multiply.

Track

A ball launches from the left and flies in a smooth arc. Just before the top of its flight it vanishes. Tap the ground where it would have landed. The error is the horizontal distance between your tap and the true landing point, as a share of the board width. Tip: the arc is symmetric, so the ball lands as far past its peak as it travelled before it.

Angle

Drag the handle to rotate the line counterclockwise from the dashed baseline until it shows the requested angle, then let go — releasing locks your answer. You can also use the arrow keys and Enter. The error is in degrees. Tip: anchor on 90° (straight up) and 180° (pointing left), then judge the remainder.

Tempo

Tap the circle (or press Space) in time with the clicks. After four good taps the clicks stop; keep the same pulse for eight more taps. Your score combines drift (rushing or dragging on average) and jitter (how uneven the taps are). If you come in a whole beat late, that slip is forgiven and noted. Tip: nod your head with the clicks and keep nodding.

Split

Press anywhere on the board, slide to the point that divides the line as asked, and release. Distance is measured from the end named in the instruction. The error is your miss as a share of the line length. Tip: find the halfway point first, then adjust.

Scoring and grades

Every test converts its error into points with the same bell-shaped curve: a perfect answer is worth 100, a typical miss around 60, and big misses approach zero. Your score for the day is the average of the five, rounded, and earns a grade:

The Friday twist

• Count: the dots drift and bounce for 2.6 seconds.
• Track: gravity is weaker and the ball bounces off the side walls.
• Angle: targets go past a full turn, up to almost three.
• Tempo: you keep the pulse on the off-beats, between the clicks.
• Split: fractions are bigger than one, so the point lies beyond the end of the line.

Friday curves are a little more forgiving to balance the difficulty. Ready? Play today’s round.