Happy Hopper: A Challenging Game for Training Response Time
Summer is in full swing, which means plenty of fun in the sun, family barbecues, and… frog jumping??? Well, if that last one wasn’t on your summer bucket list, you may want to think about adding it to the list! Our newest cognitive stimulation game is fun, exciting, and a great way to get some sweet revenge on those pesky flies that kept buzzing around your most recent picnic!
We are proud to announce Happy Hopper, a fun and challenging cognitive stimulation game that is sure to have you jumping with joy while you train some of your most important cognitive abilities!
Table of Contents
About the game
In Happy Hopper, you have to help our froggy friend reach the cloud of flies by jumping on the stones, all while avoiding obstacles.
This game has been designed to stimulate our response time by having us help the frog jump on top of fast-moving stones. Like all of CogniFit’s games, the difficulty of Happy Hopper adapts according to the level of the user, so it is suitable for everyone from 7 years old and up. This makes Happy Hopper the perfect choice for those who want to stimulate their mind and help strengthen cognitive skills.
How to play the game
The concept of the game is fairly straightforward. The player must jump on top of moving platforms in order to reach a swarm of flies at the top of the level. With each new stone, stump, or grass-covered platform that the frog jumps on, he reaches higher up the level, and closer to those tasty flies.
However, things aren’t always as easy as they seem: the platforms move quickly, and some even have cracks in them and will break if the frog lands on them too many times.
In addition, there are other obstacles that might block your progress up the level.
- Diving Birds: These birds fly at an angle and try to hit the frog. Though they fly quite slowly, they can still be dangerous.
- Flapping Bats: These bats come at the frog in much the same way as the bird, but they are much faster and more difficult to avoid.
- Moss-Covered Platforms: Not all platforms are safe for the frog. Sometimes you will see rocks and logs covered in green moss. While they may look just like the others, if the frog lands on one of these they will lose a life.
The frog starts each level with three lives, shown as little hearts in the corner of the screen. Each time the frog is hit by a platform or by an obstacle, they lose one life. Upon losing all lives, the frog will start over at the beginning of the level.
The science behind the game
Happy Hopper is a brain game that requires the user to time their jumps in order to land safely on each platform and climb as high as possible. This exciting game helps stimulate the cognitive abilities related to Response Time, Estimation, and Inhibition.
Response Time
Response Time, also known as reaction time, refers to the amount of time that takes places between when we perceive something to when we respond to it. It is the ability to detect, process, and respond to a stimulus.
Our ability to appropriately respond to stimuli in a timely and efficient manner depends on many factors, including our ability to perceive, process, and respond to the situation at hand.
- Perception: Seeing, hearing, or feeling a stimulus with certainty is essential to having good reaction time. When the starter shoots the gun at the beginning of a race, the sound is received by the athlete’s ears (they perceive the stimulus).
- Processing: In order to have good reaction time, it’s necessary to be focused and understand the information well. Following the previous example, the runners, after hearing the gun, will be able to distinguish the sound from other background noise and know that it is time to start running (process the stimulus).
- Response: Motor agility is necessary in order to be able to act and have good response time. When the runners perceived and correctly processes the signal, they started moving their legs (respond to the stimulus).
Estimation
Estimation is one of our most important neuropsychological functions, as many of our daily activities depend on our ability to estimate speed, distance, or time. Estimation could be thought of as the mental process that allows predicting an appropriate response based on incomplete knowledge.
Estimation allows us to predict an object’s future location based on its current speed, distance, and time. The brain processes the information that your eyes receive and determines what will happen as well as when and how to react quickly.
We also use our estimation ability in perceptive thought processes. Once the brain has decided what information from your surroundings it’s going to process, it evaluates and estimates its distance, speed, etc. In order to accurately process the information you receive and make an estimation, you need to use past experiences as a reference for what might happen in that specific situation. Using real-life previous situations will help ensure that you make an informed estimation about what might happen.
Inhibition
Inhibition is the ability to control impulsive or automatic responses and create measured responses by using attention and reasoning.
This cognitive ability is one of our Executive Functions and contributes to anticipation, planning, and goal setting. Inhibition, also known as inhibitory control, blocks behaviors and stops inappropriate automatic reactions, allowing us to replace an undesired, automatic response for a better, more thought-out response adapted to the situation.
Some examples of how we use inhibition in our daily lives are:
- If you get bitten by a mosquito, it’s normal to want to scratch yourself to relieve the itch. People with good inhibitory control will be able to keep themselves from scratching the bug bite, even though it itches. Poor inhibitory control may make it difficult to resist scratching the itch, causing the bug bite to bleed and scab.
- If you’re having dinner with your family and your brother-in-law (who you don’t like very much) says one annoying thing after another, you might have a hard time keeping yourself from saying something to him. However, if you have good inhibitory control, you’ll be able to control yourself and keep calm. If you have poor inhibitory control, you risk ruining the dinner.
- It’s common to see situations at an office where employees find themselves automatically doing things that are distracting them from their job, like looking at their phone, talking to colleagues, or investing time in worrying about personal activities. If an employee has good inhibitory control, they will be more efficient workers.
Are you ready to test your Response Time and stimulate your cognitive abilities?
We hope you enjoy our newest cognitive stimulation brain game and would love to hear your thoughts on this or any of our other games in the comments!
And don’t forget to keep an eye out for the next exciting game, due out next month!
After receiving his undergraduate degree in psychology, Scott went on to work as a teacher and educational counselor while working towards his master’s degree. He has spent several years working with children and adults and has personal experience with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, Dyslexia, and Depression.
