What's Your IQ

EXAMPLE ROUND · PLAY TO SEE YOURS

Which holes caught you out?

Each hole shows your average reaction time there. Darker means slower. Most people are quickest where their eyes rest, often the centre, and slowest in the corners.

607ms

509ms

545ms

450ms

471ms

467ms

631ms

485ms

552ms

fastslow

REACTION-TIME SPREAD

300milliseconds700

523 msaverage hit time

91%moles caught

1rabbits hit

14best streak

Quickest in the middle left hole (450 ms), slowest in the bottom left (631 ms). That's a big gap. Try resting your gaze in the middle and using your peripheral vision.

THE SPEED–ACCURACY TRADE-OFF

Fast, careful, or both?

Push for speed and you'll start hitting rabbits; play it safe and moles slip away. Psychologists call this the speed–accuracy trade-off. Where you land says something about your style, and practice can move you towards the top-right corner.

Fast and carefulQuick hits, few rabbits. The goal.

CarefulFew mistakes, but some moles escape. Try going a little faster.

Trigger-happyFast, but hitting rabbits. Wait a split second to see what popped up.

Still warming upSlower and more mistakes. Both improve quickly with a few rounds.

CarefulFast and carefulStill warming upTrigger-happy

Example · Careful

← slower reactionsfaster reactions →

Up = fewer rabbits hit. Grey dots are illustrative other players.

WHAT THIS GAME TRAINS

Quick reactions with a brake pedal

Whack-a-Mole is a go/no-go task in disguise. You build up a habit of hitting fast, then have to override it the instant a rabbit appears.

corestrongsomelight

coreResponse inhibitionStopping a hit you were about to make when a rabbit appears.

coreReaction speedHitting moles before they duck back down.

strongVisual scanningWatching the whole board rather than one hole.

someHand–eye coordinationLanding taps accurately on small, moving targets.

REAL-WORLD MOMENTS

Pick a moment to see what's going on

Tap a situation to see which part of the skill it relies on.

SKILLS THESE MOMENTS DRAW ON

Response inhibitioncore

Reaction speedcore

Visual scanningstrong

1 / 3

Impulse controlPausing before reacting, in conversation or online.

WHAT'S GOING ONStopping a hit you were about to make when a rabbit appears.

IN THE GAMEThe game drills response inhibition in short, scored rounds, the same ability this moment calls on.

Leans on: response inhibitioncore

INSIDE YOUR BRAIN

The brain areas doing the work

Step through each area, or tap one below. The matching marker grows on the brain; dashed markers sit deep inside.

Side view of the brain with the four lobes shaded in different colours

Based on Gray's Anatomy, fig. 728 (public domain)

AREA 1 OF 5

1Prefrontal cortexfront of the brain

The brain's control centre for planning, decision-making and holding goals in mind. It's the last region to mature, finishing in your mid-twenties.

ITS JOB IN THIS GAMEKeeps you on task and filters out distractionsRight inferior frontal cortex acts as the brain's brake, cancelling a hit when a rabbit pops up.

DID YOU KNOWIt makes up roughly a third of the human cortex, a larger share than in any other primate.

ALL AREAS

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE

Train the half that needs it

Whack-a-Mole mixes two skills. Each game below isolates one of them; the bars show how much of each it trains.

All attention games →

Go/No-GoThe lab version: respond to one signal, hold back on the other.SpeedRestraint

Stop SignalStart to respond, then cancel when the signal appears. The hardest restraint test.SpeedRestraint

Reaction TimePure speed: click the instant the screen changes.SpeedRestraint

Choice ReactionSpeed with a decision: pick the right key as fast as you can.SpeedRestraint

Whack-a-Mole