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Take a break

Twelve games, because you are not a machine.

We take the boring half of a designer's day away. This is the other half of the same idea: nobody ever solved a layout by staring at it harder.

Twelve small games, five minutes each, nothing to install and nothing being sold. And whoever tops the month wins ten dollars of credit against any tool we make.

The monthly prize

Play the most, play the best, and the month is yours.

Every go earns points, and beating your own best earns more. On the first, whoever has the most takes ten dollars of credit against any tool — then it starts again at zero.

  1. +10Finish a goAny of the twelve. Win or lose, it counts.
  2. +50Beat your own bestYour own, not anybody else's — so everybody can earn it.
  3. 🏆Top of the monthTen dollars of credit, against whatever tool you like. Level? Improving beats grinding.

This month so far

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  1. Loading…

Points need an account to land in — free, and the same one the tools use. Level on points? It goes to whoever beat more of their own bests, then to whoever needed fewer goes, then to whoever got there first. The credit lasts six months.

Quick reflexes

Sky Climb

It bounces on its own. You steer, and the ledges stop being solid.

One fall ends it

Quick reflexes · how to play

Sky Climb

Bounce as high as you can. It jumps on its own — all you do is steer, and one fall ends the run.

The controls

  • ← → Steer left and right
  • A D The same thing
  • Mouse Steer by pointing
  • Space Play, and play again

Where the points come from

  • Every metre+1
  • A spark+50
  • A green padThree screens up

Worth knowingThe sides wrap. Going off the left edge and coming back on the right is a route, not a mistake.

A free online jumping game — bounce from ledge to ledge as high as you can, dodge the ones that crumble, and beat your own height. No download, no sign-up, plays in the browser.

Puzzles

2048

The one you already know. Same numbers meet and add up.

Arrows or swipe

Puzzles · how to play

2048

Slide the tiles together until two 1024s meet. Every move drops a new tile, and the board fills up whether you are ready or not.

The controls

  • ↑ ↓ ← → Slide everything one way
  • W A S D The same thing
  • Swipe On a phone
  • Space Play, and play again

Where the points come from

  • Two tiles meetWhat they add up to
  • 2048The reason you are here

Worth knowingKeep your biggest tile in one corner and never move that way. Most losses start by breaking that rule once.

Play 2048 free online. Slide the tiles with the arrow keys or a swipe, add matching numbers together, and try to reach 2048. No download and no sign-up.

Quick reflexes

Snake

It never stops and it gets quicker. The walls are walls.

Gold is worth five

Quick reflexes · how to play

Snake

Eat, get longer, and do not hit a wall or yourself. It never stops, and it gets quicker the longer you get.

The controls

  • ↑ ↓ ← → Turn
  • W A S D The same thing
  • Swipe On a phone
  • Space Play, and play again

Where the points come from

  • An apple+10
  • A gold apple+50
  • Every appleA little more speed

Worth knowingThe gold one leaves after about five seconds, and it flashes before it goes.

The classic Snake game, free in your browser. Eat, grow, get faster, and do not hit the wall — with a gold apple worth five that does not wait around.

Puzzles

Memory Match

Eight pairs, face down. The fewer goes it takes, the better.

Sixteen cards

Puzzles · how to play

Memory Match

Sixteen cards, eight pairs, all face down. Turn them two at a time and find every pair in as few goes as you can.

The controls

  • ↑ ↓ ← → Move between the cards
  • Enter Turn the one you are on
  • Space The same thing
  • Click If you would rather

Where the points come from

  • Fewest goes winsThe board sorts smallest first
  • A perfect runSixteen

Worth knowingA pair that does not match still tells you where both of them are. The goes you spend early are the goes you save later.

A free online memory game: turn over sixteen cards, find the eight pairs, and try to do it in fewer goes than last time. Plays in the browser, nothing to install.

Puzzles

Slide Puzzle

Fifteen tiles, one space, and one to fifteen in order.

Always solvable

Puzzles · how to play

Slide Puzzle

Fifteen numbered tiles and one empty square. Slide them until one to fifteen are in order, in as few slides as you can.

The controls

  • ↑ ↓ ← → Slide a tile into the space
  • Click Any tile next to the space
  • Space Play, and play again

Where the points come from

  • Fewest slides winsThe board sorts smallest first

Worth knowingSolve the top row and the left column first, then never touch them again. The last four tiles are the only hard part.

The classic 15 puzzle, free online. Slide the numbered tiles back into order using the single empty square — shuffled by legal moves only, so every board can be solved.

Puzzles

Minesweeper

Sixteen mines under a hundred and eight squares. The first dig is always safe.

Beat your own time

Puzzles · how to play

Minesweeper

A hundred and eight squares with sixteen mines under them. Open every square that is not a mine. The first dig is always safe.

The controls

  • ↑ ↓ ← → Move
  • Enter Dig
  • Space Dig
  • F Flag one you are sure of
  • Right-click Flag, with a mouse

Where the points come from

  • Quickest time winsThe clock starts on the first dig

Worth knowingA number is how many mines touch that square — all eight around it, corners included.

Play Minesweeper free in your browser. Dig, count, flag what you are sure of, and clear the board without hitting one of the sixteen mines. Right-click or hold to flag.

Quick reflexes

Reaction Test

Five lights. How long it takes you to notice, averaged.

Fifteen seconds

Quick reflexes · how to play

Reaction Test

Five lights. The moment the screen turns green, press. Your five times are averaged, and that average is the score.

The controls

  • Space Press when it is green
  • Enter The same thing
  • Click Anywhere on the pad

Where the points come from

  • Fastest average winsIn thousandths of a second
  • Under 250 msBetter than most people
  • Pressing earlyCosts you that go

Worth knowingWatch the middle of the screen rather than the edges. Nothing arrives sooner if you stare harder.

Test your reaction time free online. Wait for green, press as fast as you can, five times — and see your average in milliseconds. Most people land between 200 and 300 ms.

Puzzles

Five

One five-letter word, six goes, and the same word for everybody until midnight.

A new one daily

Puzzles · how to play

Five

One five-letter word, six goes. Green is right, amber is in the word but somewhere else, and everybody gets the same word until midnight.

The controls

  • A–Z Type a letter
  • Enter Try the word
  • Backspace Take one back

Where the points come from

  • Solved in one+6
  • Every go you did not needWorth more
  • One word a dayNo second go

Worth knowingSpend the first go on five different common letters. Guessing the answer immediately is a way to learn nothing.

A free daily five-letter word game: six guesses, green for right, amber for nearly, and the same word for everybody until midnight. Play in the browser, no sign-up.

Adobe knowledge

Colour Match

A colour appears. Three sliders, no eyedropper. How good is your eye?

Five rounds

Adobe knowledge · how to play

Colour Match

A colour appears. Match it with red, green and blue sliders, by eye, with no eyedropper. Five rounds.

The controls

  • Tab Move between the sliders
  • ← → Move the one you are on
  • Enter Lock it in
  • Space Play, and play again

Where the points come from

  • How close you gotOut of 100, to a tenth
  • Five roundsAdded up

Worth knowingGet the brightness right before the hue. Most of the distance between two colours is how light they are.

A free colour matching game: a colour is shown, you have red, green and blue sliders and no eyedropper, and you are scored on how close you got — to a tenth of a per cent.

Adobe knowledge

Shortcut Quiz

Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere and After Effects. Do you actually know the keys?

Three lives

Adobe knowledge · how to play

Shortcut Quiz

Twenty-two keyboard shortcuts from Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere and After Effects. Three lives, a clock on every question.

The controls

  • 1 2 3 4 Pick an answer
  • Space Play, and play again

Where the points come from

  • A right answer+100
  • Answering quicklyUp to +100 more
  • A wrong oneOne of three lives

Worth knowingThe keys are written the Mac way — ⌘ is Ctrl and ⌥ is Alt on Windows. The switch at the top changes it.

A free Adobe keyboard shortcut quiz: Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and After Effects. Twenty-two questions, three lives, and the answer explained whether you get it right or not.

Adobe knowledge

Adobe Trivia

Colour modes, file formats, kerning, bleed — the things you are assumed to know.

Three lives

Adobe knowledge · how to play

Adobe Trivia

Colour modes, file formats, kerning, bleed — the things a designer is assumed to know. Three lives, a clock on every question.

The controls

  • 1 2 3 4 Pick an answer
  • Space Play, and play again

Where the points come from

  • A right answer+100
  • Answering quicklyUp to +100 more
  • A wrong oneOne of three lives

Worth knowingThe clock is half the score. Knowing it is one thing; knowing it before the bar runs out is the game.

A free Adobe and design trivia quiz: file formats, colour modes, blend modes, typography and print terms. Three lives, a clock on every question, and an explanation each time.

Adobe knowledge

Which Adobe App?

A job arrives. Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere — which one do you open?

Three lives

Adobe knowledge · how to play

Which Adobe App?

A real job arrives — a logo, a catalogue, a green screen shot. Say which application you would open.

The controls

  • 1 2 3 4 Pick an answer
  • Space Play, and play again

Where the points come from

  • A right answer+100
  • Answering quicklyUp to +100 more
  • A wrong oneOne of three lives

Worth knowingThere is one right answer each time, and a reason underneath it whether you got it or not.

Which Adobe app should you use? A free quiz that gives you a real job — a logo, a catalogue, a green screen shot — and asks which application it belongs in.

And when the break is over.

The tools do the part of the day that was never a game.

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