A problem is more fun when someone else is on the clock too. Most people will ignore a reminder for a week, but send them a problem with your time next to it and they'll answer in under a minute. That's the idea behind two new things in Cogio: challenges and circles.
Send the exact problem you just solved
After you solve a problem in Cogio, you can send it to someone. They get a link, not a request to install anything. It opens in their browser, shows them the same problem you had and starts the clock. When they finish, they see their time next to yours.
Same problem means same problem. Not a similar one, not another one from the same category. The numbers, the shapes and the answer options are identical, so the only thing being compared is who worked it out faster.
You can try one right now. Here's a quick percentage problem that Cogi, our mascot, solved in 9.0 seconds:
No app and no sign-up. If you lose, there's a rematch. If you win, you'll probably want to send it to someone else.
Start a circle
A challenge is a one-off. A circle keeps going. Make one for your family, your friends or the whole office, share the invite link or code, and everyone who joins lands on the same weekly board. The board counts problems solved, so it rewards showing up, not only speed.
A few things we decided on purpose:
- No sign-in. You pick a name to show in the circle. There's no account to create.
- No strangers. Circles are invite-only. There's no public leaderboard and no way to browse other people's circles.
- Resets every Monday. Last week's champion starts at zero like everyone else. A strong week can't carry you forever, and a slow one doesn't bury you.
Where the ten seconds come from
Cogio puts a short problem in front of the apps you choose to guard. Most of the time it takes around ten seconds. On its own, that's nothing. What matters is how often it happens.
Most people pick up their phone somewhere between fifty and a hundred-plus times a day. Take the middle of that range and call it 80 pickups. Ten seconds each is a little over 13 minutes a day. Over a year:
80 pickups × 10 seconds × 365 days ÷ 3,600 = about 80 hours.
That's roughly two working weeks of thinking, and none of it was scheduled. It came out of moments you were already spending on your phone. You don't have to find time for it, because the time was already there.
Challenges and circles don't change that math. They change the mood. A ten-second problem you do alone is a habit. The same problem with a friend's time on the board is a reason to try it again.
What we're not claiming
Solving more of these problems makes you better at solving these problems. That's the honest version, and it's the only one we'll put our name to. The FAQ on our home page explains why we don't promise more than that.
The short version
Send someone the problem you just solved. Start a circle with the people you'd actually want to beat. Ten seconds at a time, it adds up, and it's more fun with company.