Can You Catch It in Time?

weirdly accurate.

Can You Catch It in Time?

How good is your timing?

On an anticipation timing test, most adults miss the moment by a few dozen milliseconds. On the Bassin anticipation timer, the classic lab device for this skill, adults’ average miss was about 40–65 ms in the studies this test draws on, and young adults on an LED rail with feedback after every trial got it down to 16–22 ms (Stolz and colleagues, 2023). The skill is called coincidence-anticipation timing: pressing at the exact moment something you can see coming arrives.

A ball rolls down a tiled lane toward a line of light and you tap the instant it gets there. After one practice ball come twelve counted balls in three levels — four slow, four medium, four fast, crossing the lane in 2.0, 1.25 and 0.75 seconds — each at a steady speed, as on the lab timers, after a random wait of 0.7–1.3 s. The arrival is read off the frame clock that draws the ball, the press from the input event’s own timestamp, and the typical delay of your device and browser, measured by Pronk and colleagues in 2020, is subtracted from every press. Your score is your average miss, early or late, in milliseconds; you also get your early-or-late habit when twelve balls are enough to show one, your consistency, and each level’s average.

This is not reaction time: you can see the arrival coming, so good scores are near zero and you can be early. The results are reference points, not a ranking — the studies are small, 5 to 30 people a group, on their own equipment — and your device may be 20 ms or more either side of the estimate. It is not a medical, eyesight or sports-talent test.

What the test measures

One thing: how close you can land a press on a moment you can see coming.

The task

  • Coincidence-anticipation timing, the on-screen version of a Bassin anticipation timer: tap as the ball reaches the light
  • One practice ball, then twelve in three levels — slow, medium, fast — four each, all at a steady speed
  • A press more than 450 ms from the light, a press before the ball moves, or no press at all doesn’t count; that ball gets one more go
  • Timed on the frame clock and the input event’s own timestamp, with no timers, and corrected for your device’s typical delay

Your result

  • Your average miss in milliseconds, with your slow, medium and fast averages
  • Whether you lean early or late, said only when twelve balls are enough to tell
  • Your consistency and your closest ball, plus a verdict on every ball: spot on, sharp, close, nearly or way off
  • Reference points from lab studies: top table-tennis players, young adults on an LED rail, adults and adults aged 60–76 on the Bassin timer, and children aged 8–10
  • How far a ball travels in your average miss, and a shareable card with a link that challenges a friend

Before you start

  • About a minute; free, no sign-up
  • Tap anywhere with a finger, or use a mouse or keyboard
  • Stay on the page: leaving mid-roll voids that ball
  • Your presses are timed in your browser; a challenge link carries your average miss after the # in the address

Anticipation timing FAQ

Is this test free? Do I need to sign up to see my result?

Yes, it’s free, and there’s nothing to sign up for: no account, no email, no payment. Your result appears on this page the moment you finish, and you can share it or play again straight away.

What is coincidence-anticipation timing?

Coincidence-anticipation timing is the skill of acting at the exact moment a moving thing arrives, like a bat meeting a ball. In the lab it is measured with the Bassin anticipation timer, a runway of lights that runs toward a target; you press a button as the light reaches it, and the score is how many milliseconds early or late you were.

What is a good anticipation timing score?

Adults on the Bassin timer average about 40–65 ms off: 40–47 ms for non-athletes in Kim (2023), about 63 ms for 30 adults aged 20–29 in Smith and Mitroff (2012), and 49–60 ms for active adults aged 60–76 (Duncan et al., 2015). Young adults with feedback on an LED rail reached 16–22 ms (Stolz et al., 2023), and children aged 8–10 were 101–140 ms off (Amprasi et al., 2026).

Is an anticipation timing test the same as a reaction time test?

No. In a reaction test you wait for a light you can’t predict, and the answer can’t get below what the nerves allow — about 213 ms for the 1,469 adults Woods and colleagues measured in 2015. In an anticipation timing test you see the arrival coming, so your brain launches the press early enough to cover its own delay, and a good score is close to zero.

Why do I press early or late?

The result sheet answers that once your twelve balls are done: it says whether you lean early or late, when twelve balls are enough to show a habit, and explains why misses tend to fall where they do. Part of the answer comes from Stolz and colleagues’ 2023 study, which timed 22 young adults on a 17-foot LED rail at 20, 30 and 40 mph to see how speed moves a press. Shifts of a few milliseconds need many trials to see, so with four balls a level this test only reports each level’s average.

Does my phone or computer affect my timing score?

Yes, by tens of milliseconds, so the test corrects for it. Pronk et al. (2020) measured browser timing against a light sensor and a robot finger: phones added 57–70 ms and laptops pressed by keyboard 62–133 ms. Your device may still be 20 ms or more either side of the estimate, which moves your average and your early-or-late habit but not your consistency.

Can batters really keep their eye on the ball?

Not all the way. Bahill and LaRitz (1984) filmed eye movements against pitches of 60–100 mph: near the plate the ball sweeps across the view faster than 500° a second, while the eyes can follow about 70°. A professional kept up until about 5.5 feet (1.7 m) from the plate, students until 9 feet, so the last stretch is a prediction.

Is this a test of eyesight or sports talent?

No. It measures timing on one screen for about a minute. Sleep, focus and the device you use all move the number, the reference studies are small, and nothing here can tell you about your eyesight, your health or your potential at a sport.

Where the numbers come from

No study has measured enough people to say what share of the world you beat, so results are shown beside reference points from small lab studies (5–30 people a group, mostly a row of LEDs and a hardware button), never ranked. The site does not publish its own players’ data.

How the score is worked out

Absolute error (AE)

The average size of your miss, early or late, in milliseconds: the main score.

Constant error (CE)

Your average signed miss. You are called early or late only when it is larger than both 10 ms and 2.2 × your spread ÷ √n, so people with no habit are rarely given one.

Variable error (VE)

How much your presses scatter around your own average: your consistency, which device delay doesn’t affect.

Device correction

Pronk et al. (2020) measured how far ten phone and laptop browsers overstate timing, from 57.6 to 132.9 ms (median 67.3). The value for your system and browser is taken off every press.