🎨 Stroop Challenge

A fast-paced browser game based on the Stroop effect — a color word appears in a mismatched ink color, and you must identify the ink color, not what the word says.

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🚀 Features

• 20 rounds per game with a 2-second timer per round
• Bonus points for fast answers
• Streak counter with fire mode 🔥
• Global leaderboard — top 10 best scores across all players (powered by Firebase)
• Player name saved in browser (asked only once)
• Change name anytime from Settings
• Single HTML file — no install, no build step

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🌍 Global Leaderboard Setup

The leaderboard uses Firebase Realtime Database (free tier, no credit card needed).

One-time setup (~2 minutes):

1. Go to console.firebase.google.com
2. Create a project (any name — disable Analytics if prompted)
3. Go to Build → Realtime Database → Create Database → Start in Test mode
4. Copy your database URL — it looks like:

   https://your-project-default-rtdb.firebaseio.com
   

5. Open index.html and find this line:

   const FIREBASE_URL = 'YOUR_FIREBASE_URL';

6. Paste your URL:

   const FIREBASE_URL = 'https://your-project-default-rtdb.firebaseio.com';

7. Re-upload the file

Every player who visits your hosted site will now share the same global leaderboard. Scores are stored with one entry per player name — only their personal best is kept.

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🏗️ Hosting

Vercel

1. Go to vercel.com/new
2. Upload index.html
3. Deploy

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📁 Files

index.html   — the entire game (HTML + CSS + JS in one file)
README.md    — this file

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🛠️ Tech

• Vanilla HTML, CSS, JavaScript — zero dependencies, no frameworks
• Firebase Realtime Database — global score storage (best score per player)
• Google Fonts — Space Mono + Syne
• localStorage — saves player name between sessions

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🎮 How to Play

1. Enter your name (saved for future visits)
2. A color word appears in a mismatched ink color
3. Tap the ink color — not what the word says
4. Answer before the 2-second timer runs out
5. Score is based on accuracy + speed (faster answers earn bonus points)
6. Chain correct answers for a streak 🔥

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🧠 What Is the Stroop Effect?

The Stroop effect is a psychological phenomenon where your brain takes longer to process the ink color of a word when the word itself names a different color. For example, seeing BLUE written in red ink creates cognitive interference — your reading instinct fights your color perception. This game trains you to override that instinct under time pressure.