All of Counter Reflex Game's rules are in a single tab: Session → Game. From here you set at what time the guest should stop the counter, how much of the counter they see, how many attempts they have and how many points a good attempt earns. This article explains the four sections of the tab in order and ends with ready-made setting suggestions by event.
- Target time is the moment the guest must stop the counter: the same in every round (Fixed) or new in every round (Random).
- The game's difficulty is decided by Counter visibility: Always visible is easy, Visible at first is standard, Hidden is hard.
- Scoring is linear: a perfect hit earns full points, then every millisecond of deviation takes away one point.
- If the guest never stops the counter, the round closes with 0 points after the Give up after time.
Target time
The moment the guest must stop the counter. There are two options:
| Option | Description | Settings |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed (default) | The same target every round; guests learn the rhythm. | The Target slider, 2–30 seconds; default 10 seconds |
| Random | A new target each round, from the range below. | The Shortest and Longest sliders, 2–30 seconds, in half-second steps; default 5–15 seconds |
With a Fixed target you can also type the value by hand into the Exact target (seconds) box next to the slider; use it to give a fractional target such as "7.38". With a Random target, the Shortest value cannot exceed Longest; if it does, the value is corrected automatically and the corrected value is saved.
The target is shown to the guest in large type at the start of every round. A long target makes the game harder: a guest estimates 5 seconds better than 15 seconds.
Counter visibility
This is the game's main difficulty setting: how much of the counter the guest sees.
| Option | Description | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Always visible | The counter runs in plain sight — a test of precision. | The guest watches the number and stops it at the target. Measures reflex and attention |
| Visible at first (default) | Runs visibly for a few seconds, then hides. The game as it is meant to be played. | The counter is visible for the Visible for, then hidden; the guest counts the remaining time in their head |
| Hidden | Never shown. The guest has to feel the time. | The counter is never visible; the hardest setting |
Visible for only applies while Visible at first is selected: between 0.5 and 10 seconds, default 3 seconds. The counter keeps running while hidden. When the round ends the counter always becomes visible again; the guest sees where they stopped it and how far off they were.
Rounds and scoring
| Setting | What it does | Range | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rounds | How many attempts each guest has | 1–10 | 3 |
| Perfect window | An attempt within this much deviation from the target counts as a perfect hit | 0–500 ms, in steps of 10 | 50 ms |
| Points for perfect | The points for a perfect hit | 100–5000, in steps of 100 | 1000 |
A round's points are calculated like this: if the deviation is within the perfect-hit range, the round earns full points; if outside, the deviation in milliseconds is subtracted from the perfect-hit points. The result never drops below zero. With the default settings, an attempt that is 30 ms off earns 1000, one that is 120 ms off earns 880, and one that is 1 second or more off earns 0 points. Stopping early and stopping late count the same way.
The game's score is the total of the points of all rounds. The highest score that can be reached is the number of rounds times the perfect-hit points (3000 with the default settings); the hint line under the section calculates this total with your settings and shows it. If you set Perfect window to 0, full points are only earned by stopping with no deviation at all.
The result screen also shows the best round's deviation and the number of perfect hits next to the score.
Flow
| Setting | What it does | Range | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Countdown | The preparation time before every round starts. At 0 it shows off and the round starts immediately | 0–10 seconds | 3 seconds |
| Result stays | How long the round result stays on screen before the next round | 0.5–6 seconds | 1.8 seconds |
| Give up after | If the guest goes this far past the target without stopping, the round counts as missed and closes with 0 points | 1–20 seconds | 5 seconds |
| Sound | Turns the game sounds on and off | On / Off | On |
Give up after is a safety counter: if the guest leaves the screen, the counter does not run forever; the rounds close one after another and the game ends. If you keep it short, slow guests miss the round; if you keep it long, an abandoned game screen stays occupied for longer.
Recommended combinations
The following are suggestions to start with; change them to suit the guests.
| Event | Settings | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Kids, first-time players | Always visible, Fixed 5 seconds, Perfect window 100 ms | The number stays on screen; a short target and a wide range give a feeling of success |
| General use | Defaults: Visible at first 3 seconds, Fixed 10 seconds, 3 rounds | The game as it is meant to be; each round takes about 15 seconds |
| Competitive players | Hidden, Random 5–15 seconds, 5 rounds | The rhythm cannot be memorized; a gap opens on the scoreboard |
| Trade-show booth, long queue | 1 or 2 rounds, Fixed 5 seconds, Result stays 1 second | The game ends in under half a minute, the queue moves fast |
| Prize contest | Random target, Perfect window 0–20 ms | Full points get harder, tied scores become rarer |
Lengthening the target to make the game easier: a long target makes the game harder. To make it easier, set the counter to Always visible or lengthen Visible for.
Keeping Points for perfect low and being surprised that points always come out zero: at 1000 points, a 1-second deviation gives zero. For more forgiving scoring, raise the points.
Setting Give up after too short: a guest who is only slightly past the target also misses the round.
Giving a long target and leaving Session Timeout short: while the guest waits for the counter, the screen returns to the start and the game is not saved.
