The challenges system

The /challenges/ page holds nearly forty named tests, each with a goal in wpm and accuracy. Clearing one unlocks an achievement and a small badge. The challenges are not the curriculum -- the lessons are. Challenges are tests you take when you want to know where you are.

Why they exist

Lessons are unbounded. You can run a foundation drill at 25 wpm or 80 wpm and call it cleared either way. Word-list practice is similarly open -- the word list does not care how fast you type.

A challenge has a goal. You either hit the goal or you do not. The clarity is the point.

Three families

Speed tiers. Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond -- each is a 60-second test with a higher wpm bar. Bronze sits at 40 wpm. Diamond sits at 130. The ladder gives you a calibrated benchmark: instead of "I want to be faster," it is "I want Silver this month."

Most typists land at Silver within a few months of starting and reach Gold within a year. Platinum and Diamond take serious practice and decent technique.

Endurance. Marathon (5 minutes), Ten Minutes, Hour of Power. Long-form challenges that test whether your speed holds up. A typist who can hit 80 wpm for a minute often runs 65 in a five-minute test. The gap between the two is your stamina, and it is a separate skill from raw speed.

Precision. Perfect 100 (100% accuracy), Precision Run (99%), Stop on Error, No Backspace. These do not reward speed; they punish errors. The most uncomfortable challenges in the set, and the ones that produce the most lasting improvement.

Where to start

If you have never taken a challenge: Sprint (60 seconds, 60 wpm at 95%). It is the standard typing-test format. Whatever number you get is your baseline.

After that:

• If your accuracy is below 95%, work the precision challenges first.
• If your accuracy is above 96% and your speed has plateaued, work the speed tiers.
• If you can hit your wpm target on a 60-second test but not on a 5-minute one, work the endurance challenges.

Pick one. Run it three or four times a week until you clear it. Move on.

What not to do

Do not chase every challenge. There are nearly forty, and most of them you will earn naturally as you practice. The ones that matter are the ones that match what you are trying to improve.

Do not retake a challenge ten times in a row trying for the goal. Two attempts is plenty. If you miss twice, your fingers need rest or your technique needs work -- not another rep on tired hands.

Do not treat the challenges page as a leaderboard. There is no leaderboard. The badges are local; nobody else can see them. The goal is yours.