Shape Hunt

How to play

A target shape sits at the top of the screen, and the field below fills with decoys. Find the one shape that matches both the color and the outline, then tap it. You play five rounds, each more crowded than the last, and your score is your total time across all five.

Tips

• Decoys can match the target's color or its outline, but never both. Confirm the pair before you tap.
• Scan by color first. Let patches of the right color jump out, then check their shape.
• The target may be partly buried under other shapes, but a good chunk of it always stays visible.
• A wrong tap only costs time, so keep moving instead of freezing on a crowded field.

Why the decoys are designed the way they are

Every decoy in Shape Hunt shares exactly one feature with the target: either its colour or its outline, never both. That is a deliberate copy of how visual search is studied in the lab. A target defined by a single feature, say the only red thing on screen, pops out instantly no matter how much clutter there is. A target defined by a combination of features has to be found by checking items one at a time, and the time that takes grows with the number of decoys.

So the five rounds get harder for a precise reason. More decoys means more items to check, and the single match is hidden among things that half match it. Your total time across the five rounds is the score, which is why a fast early round buys you slack for the crowded ones.

Searching faster

• Confirm both features before you tap. A decoy that matches the colour will fool a quick eye every time.
• Filter by colour first. The right colour cuts the field to a handful of candidates, and checking their outlines is quick.
• Scan in a fixed pattern rather than darting. Left to right, top to bottom, so you never check the same region twice.
• The target sits at the top of the screen for the whole round. Glance at it once more before tapping if you are not sure.
• Round one is nearly free. Take it fast and cleanly, since the same seconds are much harder to save in round five.

Common questions

Can a decoy match both the target's colour and shape?

No. Decoys match the colour or the outline but never both, so the one shape that matches both is always unique.

How is the score calculated?

It is your total time across all five rounds, so lower is better. Each round has more decoys than the last.

Why does finding the shape get slower with more decoys?

Because the target is defined by a combination of features, you have to check candidates one by one, and that takes longer the more there are.