SENKO (Gold Number Catch)

SENKO is MIKIRI's rapid number-stream game. Digits appear one after another in the same place, each for a fraction of a second. One of them is gold. When the stream ends, you enter the gold digit.

From round 13 there are two gold digits, and later three. When the second gold comes just after the first, it becomes surprisingly easy to miss it entirely — attention is still busy with the first one. This effect is well documented in attention research as the attentional blink, and SENKO lets you feel it directly. No full-screen flashing is used: only the digit in the centre changes.

How to play

1. Enter a username and choose SENKO
2. Watch the digits flash in the centre
3. Remember only the gold digit (or digits)
4. When the stream ends, enter the gold digits in the order they appeared
5. A wrong answer costs a life and shows the whole stream

Difficulty

Round 1 is 6 digits at 0.35 seconds each with one gold. Round 13 (elite) adds a second gold, round 19 brings the two golds closer together, round 21 (demon) shows 12 digits at 0.13 seconds, and round 25 adds a third gold. From round 35 it stays at 20 digits, 0.1 seconds each, with three golds.

Tips

• Watch the colour, not the shape; let white digits pass
• Name the gold digit to yourself the moment it appears
• When two golds are close, expect the second — that is when people miss it
• Keep your eyes still on the centre
• If it feels too fast, take a short break; the stream is intense

What SENKO actually tests

SENKO asks you to pick out the target and let everything else pass in a fast stream. Reading each white digit slows your reaction when the gold one arrives.

The other part is attention over time. Right after you notice the first gold digit, attention is still busy with it, and a second gold arriving soon after is easy to miss. This is called the attentional blink, and it happens to most people. SENKO's later rounds deliberately place golds at that distance.

Where people get stuck

Reading every digit. Let the white digits go by unread and wait only for the colour change.

Relaxing after the first gold. In rounds with two or more golds, the moment right after the first is exactly when the second tends to come.

Moving your eyes. The digits always appear in the centre. Moving your gaze makes you miss what appears meanwhile.

Before you play

There is no full-screen flashing, but in the fastest rounds the digit in the centre changes about ten times a second. If fast-changing images have made you feel unwell before, please do not play.

The attentional blink does not disappear completely with practice. If your score stops improving, it does not mean your ability has dropped.

FAQ

Q. Is SENKO free?

A. Yes. It is free, needs no signup and runs in your phone or desktop browser.

Q. Does the screen flash?

A. No full-screen flashing. Only the digit in the centre changes, at up to ten changes per second in the fastest rounds. If fast changing images bother you, please skip this game.

Q. What is the attentional blink?

A. After noticing one target in a fast stream, people often miss a second target that follows within roughly half a second. SENKO places golds at those distances in later rounds.

Q. What does the score mean?

A. The highest round cleared. It is a game score, not a medical assessment.

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