Arrow Rush

Arrow Rush is built on the Eriksen flanker task, a classic measure of selective attention and response inhibition introduced by Eriksen and Eriksen in 1974. A central arrow is surrounded by flanking arrows that either point the same way (congruent) or the opposite way (incongruent). Your job is to respond to the middle arrow while ignoring its neighbours — and those neighbours are surprisingly hard to tune out.

Cognitive domain: Attention

Five arrows appear in a row; a small dot marks the centre one. Tap Left or Right to match the direction of the CENTRE arrow only. On incongruent trials the flankers point the other way and try to pull your answer with them. Respond as accurately as you can before the round ends; a combo builds as you string correct answers together.

Your score rewards correct answers and consistency (a combo multiplier), so accuracy under conflict matters more than raw speed. On the MindSprint scale, around 55 points is top-tier. The gap between your speed on congruent versus incongruent trials is the classic "flanker effect".

• Fixate on the centre arrow and let the flankers blur — narrow your focus.
• Do not rush incongruent trials; that is where wrong answers cluster.
• Keep a rhythm — steady correct answers grow your combo multiplier.
• If you feel the flankers pulling you, slow down a beat and confirm the centre.

What is the flanker task?

A classic attention test (Eriksen & Eriksen, 1974) where you respond to a central item while ignoring distracting flankers.

What is the "flanker effect"?

People are slower and less accurate when the flanking arrows point opposite to the target — a well-established measure of selective attention.

Is it used in research?

Yes — widely, in studies of attention, conflict monitoring, and executive control.