Unified Reflex

What it is

Unified Reflex is a minimalist reflex game for web and mobile. It measures your reaction time on every correct tap, maintains a live average for the current streak, and records your previous and best averages (best is saved when your streak reaches ≥ 17). The design uses robust hit‑tests and perceptual color spacing so highlighted targets are distinct yet varied.

How it plays

• Mode 1 — Single Target: One sector lights up. Tap it as fast as you can. The hub stays gray.
• Mode 2 — Color Match: The hub shows a color; several slices light up in different colors; only one matches the hub — tap the match.

Modes alternate after a random number of correct taps (3–6). A wrong tap or a response slower than 17s resets the current streak. Your Best Avg ≥17 updates only after a solid streak to discourage “gaming” the metric.

Why it helps

This design targets three well‑studied ingredients of peak attention:

1. Vigilant attention & reaction time. Fast, consistent reactions under simple conditions relate to the capacity to sustain attention. The game’s timing mirrors standard vigilance paradigms and encourages steady, low‑variance responses.
2. Speed–accuracy control. Alternating modes nudge you to manage the classic speed–accuracy trade‑off rather than mindlessly chase speed.
3. Perceptual decision‑making. Color‑match trials are lightweight perceptual decisions; with practice, the visual system becomes more efficient at discriminating targets and ignoring distractors.

How to use it

• Session length: 2–5 minutes, 1–3 sessions/day. Stop if accuracy or steadiness drops.
• Quality over quantity: Aim for smooth, even rhythm — not frantic tapping. Watch your Current Avg and Prev Avg stabilize.
• Warm‑up, then focus: Do 10–20 easy taps to settle in, then pursue a ≥ 17 streak for a valid best.
• Environment: Good lighting; comfortable posture; avoid fatigue/sleep loss before testing.

Note: Unified Reflex is a wellness/skills tool, not a medical device. It is not intended to diagnose or treat conditions.

Science behind the design

• Vigilant attention & reaction time: Vigilance tasks (e.g., the Psychomotor Vigilance Test) are highly sensitive to attentional lapses and sleep loss, emphasizing stable, fast responses. Lim & Dinges, 2008. Open PDF: link.
• Speed–accuracy trade‑off (SAT): Human decisions obey a tunable SAT — going faster usually costs accuracy. Training that teaches users to balance speed with correctness can improve practical performance. See the comprehensive review Heitz, 2014 and a neural account Standage, 2014.
• Practice effects on reaction time: Reaction time improves reliably with practice; dose matters. See practice‑effect data in repeated assessments Del Rossi et al., 2014 and a dose–response study with serial RT training Olivier et al., 2021.
• Attentional control & flexibility: Alternating tasks and managing distractors echo cognitive control demands; reviews show action‑game style practice can enhance attentional control and task switching. See Bavelier & Green, 2019, meta‑analysis update Bediou et al., 2023, and empirical task‑switching evidence Green et al., 2012.
• Perceptual learning in vision: With training, the visual system can become more efficient at perceptual decisions; benefits can be specific but meaningful. Review: Sagi, 2011.
• Color you can trust: The game spaces decoy colors using the perceptual OKLab color space to keep targets distinct without being garish. See the original write‑up Ottosson, 2020 and W3C/encyclopedic overviews of OKLab/OKLCH now in modern CSS Wikipedia overview.

Get started

Open the game, tap Start, and aim for a calm, consistent streak of ≥ 17 correct taps. Try a few short sessions during the day and watch your averages settle. When you’re ready, challenge yourself with longer streaks and compare to your Prev Avg and Best Avg ≥17.

Questions or feedback? Reply to this post or contact the team — we love data and we iterate fast.