gamesblog

Arrow flanker

A row of arrows like ← ← → ← ←: which way does the middle one point? More flankers, more of them pointing the wrong way, and less time.

  • Attention and speed
  • Timed
  • Endless levels

How it plays

A row of arrows appears. Answer only for the one in the middle — left or right, keys 1 and 2 — and ignore the rest. When the others agree it is easy; when they point the other way, they pull.

Levels add flankers, raise the share of rows that disagree, bring in rows where only some flankers disagree, and shorten the time. The clock closes on 0.7 s without ever reaching it.

Rows whose flankers point nowhere (— — ← — —) are a setting: they are the baseline that shows how much the disagreeing ones cost you.

Keys

Space starts and skips ahead · 1–9 pick · Enter submits · Esc stops. On a phone, tap.

What it trains

This practises answering to one thing while ignoring what surrounds it. It improves this task; the evidence does not support a claim about attention in general.

Learn

How to get better at arrow flanker: the method, the techniques, what each new level asks of you, and the traps the wrong answers are made of.

Your approach to each question

  1. As the row appears, go straight to its middle: the arrow with as many arrows on its left as on its right.
  2. Look only at that arrow’s head — which side the point is on — and nothing either side of it.
  3. Press 1 for left or 2 for right, at once. Every row has exactly one right answer and there is nothing to work out.
  4. Do not use the ends of the row to find the middle. The row is sometimes a pair narrower than the level’s width, so its length tells you nothing.

Techniques and tricks

  • Narrow your spotlight

    Before the row comes, decide that you will see one arrow’s width and no more. Everything outside that small window is wallpaper.

  • Read the head, not the shaft

    Left and right arrows have the same shaft; only the head differs. Let your eye go to the point and answer from where it is.

  • Find the middle by balance

    The middle is the one with equal numbers either side. In a row of 7 it is the 4th, in a row of 11 the 6th — but rather than count, let the row balance on it.

  • Rest a finger on each key

    Keep one finger on 1 and one on 2, or both thumbs over the buttons, so the answer is a press rather than a reach.

  • Expect the pull, then overrule it

    Most rows from level 5 disagree. Go into each row expecting the flankers to point the other way, so their pull does not surprise you into following it.

As the levels climb

  • The flankers grow from four to six at level 1, eight at level 4 and ten at level 7. More arrows make the middle harder to find, so balance the row rather than scan it.
  • At level 2 the share of disagreeing rows rises to 65% and mixed rows arrive, where only some flankers disagree; they take most of the conflict. At level 5 the share is 80%.
  • The clock starts at 3.5 s and tightens from level 3; after level 7 it tightens every level, closing towards 0.7 s without reaching it. By then only a fixed centre and an instant press keep up.

Traps to avoid

  • The majority vote: answering the way most arrows point. In a disagreeing row (→ → ← → →) the majority is always wrong.
  • The odd one out in a mixed row. In ← → ← ← ← the → stands out, but it is a flanker; the middle arrow points left.
  • Counting in from one end when the row is a pair narrower than you expected, and landing one arrow off the middle.

How to practise

  • In “Rows to include”, add “Flankers point nowhere (— — ← — —)”. They are your baseline: how fast you answer when nothing pulls.
  • If mixed rows trip you, untick “Some flankers disagree (← → ← ← →)” for a while to drill the plain conflict, then add them back.
  • Set “Feedback” to “At each judgement” to answer a block straight through without the working breaking your rhythm, then review the misses.

Levels

Each question has a clock that comes from the work it asks for. There is no last level: at least one dial turns without end. Your level is judged on your last ten answers, every ten: 90% moves you up, below 80% moves you down, which holds most people near four in five right.

All of it is in the settings beside Start — how many answers a judgement looks at and how often it recalibrates, the thresholds, the time, which questions, how many options, and whether you see each verdict at once or review them together at the judgement. You can also jump to any level.

More attention and speed

All games →