Count the Blinks Game

About Count Flash

Count Flash shows a single picture, such as a star or an apple, that blinks up briefly in different places in a box. After the last blink the box is emptied and you type how many times it appeared. Each blink is short and is followed by a pause, but you must keep your own count.

The total is between 4 and 7 blinks on the first levels and up to 20 on the highest. The blinks also come faster: a cycle of blink and pause lasts about 0.9 seconds on level 1 and about 0.46 seconds on level 10. An exact count scores 100, and an answer that is close still earns up to 85.

How to play

1. Watch the box and count silently each time the picture appears. Do not skip the pause between blinks.
2. When the box is empty, type the total in the answer field and press Lock in or Enter.
3. Be careful not to count a blink twice when the picture jumps to a similar place.
4. After the answer the real count is shown.

A picture blinks up one at a time at different places. Count how many blinks there are and type the number. Close answers still earn points.

How scoring works

An exact answer scores 100. A wrong answer is scored by its distance from the true count: it can earn up to 85 points when it is off by one or two, and the score reaches 0 at a distance of 28 percent of the count, with a minimum of 2. For 15 blinks, an error of 2 earns about 52 points.

The count is drawn at random between 4 and 7 on level 1 and between 6 and 20 on level 10. The picture stays on for 520 ms on level 1 and 270 ms on level 10, with a pause of 380 ms and 190 ms. Consecutive blinks are at least a quarter of the box apart. You have 10 seconds to answer.

What it trains

The game trains sustained attention and the updating of working memory: you keep a number in mind and change it with every event. This is what you do when you count steps, repetitions in the gym or the number of times someone says a word.

It also trains the discipline of counting without losing track when the speed goes up, a skill that is useful in daily tasks such as counting change or items in a delivery.

Tips for a higher score

• Count in your head with a steady voice, 'one, two, three', and do not speed up when the blinks come faster.
• Group the counts: after every fifth blink hold up a finger or note 'five', then continue with 'one'.
• Keep your eyes at the centre of the box. You can see blinks at the edges without moving your gaze.
• If you lose count, do not guess wildly. A rough estimate still earns partial points.
• When the answer field opens, type quickly, because your memory of the count fades within seconds.

The idea behind it

Counting a series of events involves the phonological loop, the part of working memory that holds speech-like information, as in the model of Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch from 1974. Counting while talking out loud or repeating other words interferes with it, which is why it is harder to count and listen at the same time.

Studies of timed counting find that people can count up to about three or four items at a glance, which is called subitizing, but that larger numbers need serial counting at a pace of roughly 300 milliseconds per item or slower. The fast rounds in the game bring you close to the limit of this pace.

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Free, no account. Your best scores are saved on your device.