Introducing Scroll Mode
A new way to type has arrived:
Scroll Mode.
Instead of the usual multi-line block of words, you
get a
single line that scrolls from right to left, with the word you're typing locked in the center.
Completed words drift off to the left while upcoming
words feed in from the right, gently fading in and out
at the edges of the game area.
It works as a visual style on top of any existing mode
— Classic, Hard, Zen, and the rest all keep their
rules; only the layout changes. Turn it on from the
Settings
panel, or type
/scroll in the
game input to toggle it on the fly. Give it a try and
let me know what you think!
Seasons on Hold + New Leaderboards
We're putting
seasonal leaderboards on hold
for now. With a smaller player base, resetting
the boards every few months doesn't make much
sense yet. Instead, the
global leaderboard
now features
all-time rankings
with two tabs:
Top Scores
and
Top WPM.
Both lists show up to 100 entries with a load
more button.
Past season champions are still honored in the
Wall of Fame. When the community grows, we'll bring seasons
back!
Season 3 is Live!
Happy New Year, Nerds!
Season 3 is officially here! We've migrated to our new
home at
nerdtypegame.org
— the old site at
www.nerdtypegame.com
is now offline. Check out the newly polished
performance charts
to track your progress this season. Visit the
Wall of Fame
to see all past season champions.
Let's
make 2026 the fastest year yet! Good luck, and happy
typing!
Merry Christmas, Nerds!
Merry Christmas
to all NerdType players! We hope you're enjoying the
holidays. The migration to our self-hosted instance
continues to progress smoothly with exciting new
features rolling out regularly. We're especially proud
of the recent updates to
game data analytics visualization
- including the new XP Activity Heatmap, enhanced
chart filtering, scroll-snap navigation, and
comprehensive daily trend tracking. Plus, don't miss
the new
pacing caret
feature that helps you maintain your target typing
speed with a visual guide (enable it with
/caret [WPM]
or from settings)!
Mark your calendars:
On
January 1, 2026
- the same day
Season 3
begins -
www.nerdtypegame.org
will become NerdType's official permanent home! You're
already here experiencing the future of NerdType, so
get ready for an exciting new chapter. Thank you for
being part of the NerdType community, and here's to
even more improvements in the new year!
Double XP Weekend Incoming!
Mark your calendars, nerds! This weekend we're celebrating with DOUBLE XP! From Friday, November 21st through Sunday, November 23rd (CET), every victory will earn you twice the experience points. This is the perfect time to accelerate your progression and climb those levels.
Want to see your language in NerdType?
Hey nerds! Just a friendly reminder that if you'd like me to add a specific language to the game, feel free to reach out! I'm always open to expanding NerdType's language support. You can find contact info on the Info page or hit me up on the Discord server. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Experience Points and Leveling System
NerdType now features a progression system with Experience Points (XP) and leveling! Logged-in users earn XP after each victory, with the amount determined by your score and difficulty multiplier. Watch your level badge appear next to your username in the navbar and track your progress on the chart page with a detailed XP bar. Check the Info page for details on XP calculation formulas. Time to level up, nerds!
New Wallpapers Available
Show your NerdType pride with our new wallpapers! We've added three fresh designs perfect for your desktop or mobile device. Click on any wallpaper below to download.
Desktop - With Slogan (1920x1080)
Desktop - Clean Logo (1920x1080)
Mobile (1080x1920)
Custom Settings Save/Load
Save your perfect setup! New /save and /load commands let you preserve custom game settings (words goal, bonus energy, initial energy, spaces, punctuation) for instant access. Settings sync to cloud for logged-in users and save locally for guests. Plus, quick /login and /logout commands for faster account management.
Season 2 is Live!
Welcome to Season 2, nerds! The global leaderboard has been reset and fresh competition begins now. Season 2 runs from October 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025 - that's 3 months of intense typing competition! Congratulations to our Season 1 champions who have earned their permanent place in NerdType history. Want to dive deeper into Season 1 data? Check out the Season 1 Analytics Dashboard for comprehensive stats and insights! New seasonal achievements await: earn "Back for More" for participating and "Frost Fingers" for completing 100 games during the season. Will you be the next to claim the throne? The race starts now!
Offscreen Practice Mode
Practice offscreen typing with the new /offscreen command! Ideal for note-taking during lectures or working with reference materials. It opens a clean, draggable word list popup that's perfect for a second monitor and includes mistake sounds for instant audio feedback.
Join the Official NerdType Discord!
We've launched the official NerdType Discord server where you can connect with fellow typists. Click the Discord icon in the footer or join here to get started!
Custom Practice Command
Master your most challenging words! The new /prac quick command lets you create custom practice sessions with any words you choose. Simply type /prac followed by your target words during gameplay - for example, /prac javascript function algorithm - and instantly dive into a focused practice session.
Save Results as Image
Share your typing achievements with the world! The new Save Image feature lets you capture your game results as a high-quality image with a single click. After completing any game, find the "Save image" button right next to your practice options in the results screen. The saved image includes all your key stats - WPM, accuracy, score breakdown, and your WPM progression chart - perfectly formatted for sharing on social media or keeping as a personal record. No more screenshots needed - just click and share your typing progress!
Hardcore Mode
Think you've mastered typing? Hardcore Mode is here to test your limits! One wrong keystroke and it's game over - no second chances, no backspace, no mercy. This unforgiving mode demands absolute precision with every character you type. Complete a full 30-word session without a single mistake to earn the exclusive "Flawless Victory" achievement. Are your typing skills sharp enough to survive the ultimate challenge?
- NEW: Scroll Mode - A single line of words that scrolls from right to left, keeping the active word centered. Completed words drift off to the left and upcoming words fade in from the right. Works as a visual style on top of any mode. Toggle it from the Settings panel or with the new /scroll command
- FIX: Resolved an issue where XP and level progress could reset to level 1 — a failed connection while loading your data was mistaken for an empty account, and the next game could then overwrite your saved progress. Failed loads are now detected and your cloud progress is protected
- FEAT: Leaderboard now shows all-time rankings instead of seasonal scores
- FEAT: Added WPM leaderboard tab alongside the existing score leaderboard
- FEAT: Both leaderboards show top 20 by default with a "Load More" button to reveal up to 100 entries
- IMPR: Seasons are on hold — past champions remain in the Wall of Fame
- FEAT: Press Ctrl + O on the stats page to open the chart filters modal
- FEAT: Press Enter inside the chart filters modal to apply filters and close it
- FIX: Resolved a memory leak causing the game to become progressively laggier after many restarts — keyboard event listeners were accumulating on each game over instead of being reused
- FIX: Expired sessions now correctly clear your scores from the local scoreboard and stats page — authenticated data is no longer visible after being logged out
- FIX: "Continue as Guest" button in the login modal now reliably closes the modal
- FEAT: Added Lilex as a new selectable game font
- IMPR: A notification is shown when your session has expired, prompting you to log in again
- FIX: WPM on game over now accounts for partially typed words, giving a more accurate result on lost games
- IMPR: Migrated to Vite build system for faster load times and optimized asset delivery
- IMPR: Clean URL structure — pages now use simple paths like /stats, /achievements, /leaderboard
- IMPR: Automatic cache-busting with content-hashed filenames
- FIX: Zen Mode XP now correctly appears in the activity heatmap
- FIX: Settings now correctly load for each user when switching accounts - previous user's settings no longer persist after login
- FIX: New users get clean default settings instead of inheriting the previous user's configuration
- FIX: In-memory game settings no longer overwrite cloud settings during login sync
- FIX: Achievements and level data now correctly sync during login - prevents empty data from overwriting cloud progress
- IMPR: API error messages are now user-friendly - rate limiting, server errors, and connection issues display clear messages instead of technical JSON errors
- FIX: Improved typing caret vertical alignment for BigBlueTerm font
- FIX: Adjusted caret position at word endings for better visual consistency across all fonts
- FIX: Red error indicator now aligns with normal caret position on mistyped spaces
- FIX: Command palette now retains focus when Tab is pressed without autocomplete suggestions available
- FEAT: Added comprehensive activity logging for all settings panel changes
- FEAT: Added /activity command - displays last 20 activities including achievements, game completions, settings changes, and command executions in terminal-style output
- FEAT: Command palette autocomplete - typing partial commands (e.g., /acti) shows ghost text suggestions with Tab key to complete
- FEAT: Argument autocomplete for commands - /mode, /lang, /language, /caret, and /rm commands now suggest valid arguments as you type
- IMPR: Updated info.html documentation - added /activity command and removed deprecated /space command
- FEAT: Season 3 (Winter Season) launched - January 1 to March 31, 2026
- FEAT: New Season 3 achievements - "Arctic Adventurer" (participate) and "Polar Express" (complete 100 games)
- FEAT: Wall of Fame redesigned - stats now displayed on right side for improved layout
- IMPR: Responsive design improvements for Wall of Fame on medium screens (800px-1300px)
- IMPR: Global scoreboard updated with Season 3 dates and improved empty state message
- IMPR: Version bumped to v3.0.0 - removed selfhost designation
- FEAT: Added login button and authentication modals to all main pages (Index, Chart, Achievements, Global Scoreboard)
- IMPR: Redesigned Chart page filter button - now floating action button matching back-to-top button styling
- IMPR: Chart filter button displays "Chart Filters" text on larger screens, icon-only on mobile devices (<576px)
- IMPR: Standardized "LOGIN" text display for unauthenticated users across all pages
- REMOVE: Minimal UI Mode feature and Ctrl+Z keybind - standard UI provides optimal experience for all users
- REMOVE: "Minimal Mind" achievement (previously required completing Zen Mode with minimal UI enabled)
- REMOVE: "Show Spaces After Words" setting - spaces now always displayed for realistic typing practice
- REMOVE: /space and /spaces slash commands (no longer needed)
- PERF: Eliminated critical memory leaks - capped keystroke history array at 5,000 entries to prevent unbounded growth
- PERF: Removed debug system entirely - eliminated continuous DOM updates and MutationCallback triggers that caused CPU spikes when idle
- PERF: Fixed pacing caret interval leaks - added proper cleanup for monitoring intervals (100ms/200ms) on page unload and game reset
- PERF: Fixed smooth caret memory leaks - event listeners now properly removed from window.visualViewport and window on cleanup
- NEW: Chart page scroll-snap navigation - smooth full-screen scrolling between chart sections with automatic snapping (desktop/tablet only)
- NEW: Section navigator sidebar (screens > 1700px) shows current section with clickable navigation
- NEW: Pagination dots (993px-1700px) for quick section jumping on medium screens
- NEW: Sticky navbar on chart page stays visible while scrolling (desktop/tablet only)
- NEW: Filter button moved to navbar for easy access on all chart sections
- NEW: Recent performance tracking - added "Recent WPM", "Recent Accuracy", and "Recent Score" cards showing last 10 games with color-coded trend indicators (improving/stable/declining)
- NEW: Added "Average Score" stat to complement existing Highest Score metric
- NEW: XP Activity Heatmap - visualize your daily XP earnings with a GitHub-style heatmap on the chart page
- IMPROVED: Heatmap features interactive tooltips showing XP ranges and responsive design for all screen sizes
- NEW: Added chart filtering - filter all charts by game mode and difficulty multiplier from the chart page
- NEW: Added a pace caret feature. You can now enable a pacing caret from the settings menu or by using the /caret [WPM] quick command. The caret moves at a set speed to give you a visual guide for maintaining your target typing pace.
- NEW: Added opacity slider for the pacing caret in settings - adjust caret visibility from 10% to 100% to match your preference
- NEW: Added daily trend charts with tabbed interface - track WPM, Accuracy, and Score over time with 5-day moving averages for better progress visualization
- NEW: Added Score Progression chart showing individual session scores and personal best progression over time
- NEW: Added Game Mode Performance charts - visualize average WPM and Score by game mode
- IMPROVED: Chart page now loads complete game history (up to 10,000 games) for comprehensive progress tracking across all daily trend charts
- IMPROVED: Optimized mobile experience - charts hidden on small screens while stats card remains accessible
- IMPROVED: Cleaner gameplay experience - header and footer now automatically hide when you start typing (press Enter), and reappear when you reset (press Ctrl+Enter) for distraction-free focus
- FIX: Accuracy calculation now uses first-pass tracking - only your initial attempt at each character position counts toward accuracy, corrections don't affect your score
- IMPROVED: Ctrl+Backspace and regular backspace now produce identical accuracy results, removing the exploit where deleting and retyping inflated accuracy scores
- IMPROVED: /keys command now displays accuracy stats (correct/wrong/total keystrokes) instead of legend, with accurate backspace counting
- DOCS: Updated "How Accuracy is Calculated" section to explain first-pass accuracy system
- BALANCE: Zen Mode XP formula updated to WPM × (Accuracy² as decimal) × Words (removed division by 3 for better rewards)
- BALANCE: Zen Mode XP rewards increased by ~3x using new formula (WPM × Accuracy² × Words) / 3
- NEW: /keys command - View complete keystroke history from your last game, including all characters typed, spaces (_), and backspaces (<) for detailed typing pattern analysis
- OPTIMIZED: Game performance improvements - eliminated frame drops during fast typing, reduced memory usage by 99% in long sessions, and cached DOM/localStorage lookups for 60fps consistency
- FIXED: Caret now moves smoothly during fast typing with improved performance optimizations
- UNIFIED: Sound settings now use single "Sound Effects" toggle controlling all sounds (keypress, achievements, level-ups) - accessible via settings or /sound command
- IMPROVED: /xp command progress percentage now displays one decimal place (e.g., 98.5%) for more precise level tracking
- REMOVED: Precision multiplier UI hidden from gameplay (scoring calculation still active in background)
- NEW: /xp command - Display level and XP progress with animated gold progress bar showing current XP, XP needed for next level, and total XP earned
- ENHANCED: XP counter in game over modal now animates from 0 to earned XP with gold glow effect
- NEW: Experience Points (XP) and Leveling System - Logged-in users earn XP after victories, track progress with level badge in navbar and detailed XP bar on chart page
- NEW: Level Milestone Achievements - "Young Padawan" (Level 10), "Unplugged" (Level 25), "There is No Spoon" (Level 50)
- NEW: Level-up sound effect plays when reaching a new level
- ENHANCED: Polyglot Programmer achievement now displays progress tracking showing which languages (English, Finnish, Swedish) have been completed with 50+ WPM
- OPTIMIZED: Global scoreboard now loads top 20 scores only (98% reduction in Firebase reads)
- IMPROVED: Extended cache duration to 15 minutes for better performance
- ENHANCED: Local scoreboard shows 10 games initially, loads +10 per click (max 100 games)
- FIXED: Refresh button icon background and added smooth spin animation
- NEW: /save command - Save current custom game settings (words goal, bonus energy, initial energy, spaces, punctuation) to a personal preset. Syncs to cloud for logged-in users, localStorage for guests
- NEW: /load command - Instantly restore saved custom settings preset with automatic game reload
- NEW: /login command - Quick access to login modal with smart detection that shows notification if already logged in
- NEW: /logout command - Fast logout with automatic return to guest mode
- ENHANCED: Updated /help command and info page documentation with new settings management and account commands
- NEW: Achievement "I Know Kung Fu" added
- PERFORMANCE: Implemented localStorage caching for Global Scoreboard - Instant page load on repeat visits with 5-minute cache, reducing initial load time from ~2s to ~50-100ms
- PERFORMANCE: Implemented localStorage caching for Chart page - Charts and stats now render instantly from cache while fresh data loads in background
- FIXED: Stats card now properly waits for Firebase authentication before loading, ensuring accurate total game count display instead of showing truncated paginated data
- IMPROVED: Reduced Firebase database reads by 80-90% through smart caching strategy with stale-while-revalidate pattern
- NEW: Season 2 Launch - Global leaderboard reset for fresh competition running October-December 2025
- NEW: Season 1 Wall of Fame - Permanent display of Season 1 champions with hardcoded results
- NEW: Season 1 Analytics Dashboard - External comprehensive stats dashboard for Season 1 data analysis
- NEW: Season 2 Achievements - Added "Back for More" (participation) and "Frost Fingers" (100 games completed) seasonal achievements
- NEW: Offscreen Practice Mode - Added /offscreen command to open a draggable popup window with current word list, perfect for multi-monitor typing practice
- NEW: Mistake Sound Feedback - Added audio feedback for typing errors during offscreen practice
- ENHANCED: Data Sharing Settings - Reorganized data sharing options into their own dedicated section in Settings modal with horizontal layout for better organization and accessibility
- NEW: Independent Discord Webhook Toggle - Added separate "Send scores to Discord" setting in Settings panel, allowing users to control Discord webhook independently from global leaderboard sharing
- NEW: Discord Service Status Indicator - Shows real-time status of Discord webhook service in Settings panel (Online/Offline)
- NEW: /discord Command - Added in-game slash command to quickly toggle Discord webhook on/off during gameplay
- ENHANCED: Zen Mode Chart Tooltips - Now display word count for each game (e.g., "Mode: Zen [30 words]")