How-to Guide

This page covers everything from how to read the Typing Battle screen to the rules, how damage and rank points are calculated, the romaji input chart, and what to do when something goes wrong. If you want to start playing right away, begin from the Typing Battle page.

Contents: Basic rules ・ Reading the screen ・ How to play each match mode ・ Flow of a match ・ How damage works ・ Romaji input guide ・ Rank system ・ Battle Points and monsters ・ Reading the match history page ・ Tips for improving ・ Playing on a smartphone ・ English mode ・ Troubleshooting ・ Fairness and contact

Basic Rules

Two players each start with 1000 HP. Type the prompt shown on screen correctly all the way through to damage your opponent; if you mistype, you take damage yourself. The first player to reduce the other's HP to 0 wins, and if both players' HP reaches 0, the match is a draw. The same rules apply in every mode (Casual, Friends, and Ranked); the only differences are how your opponent is chosen and whether rank points change.

Reading the Screen

Lobby Screen

• Top bar: your login status is shown as "Not logged in (playing as a guest)" or "Logged in: nickname." While you are a guest, a nickname field (up to 20 characters; a random name is used if left blank) and a "Log in" button are shown. While you are logged in, the field shows your current nickname with a "Change" button (see Setting and changing your nickname for details).
• Rank display: once you log in, you see your tier badge and tier name, a progress bar to the next tier, and "current points / 1000 pt." For the top tier, Grandmaster, only your total points are shown. While logged in, a "Match History" button also appears. You can change your nickname on My Page and log out from the menu at the top right of the screen.
• Match modes: choose from three cards: "Casual Match," "Play with Friends," and "Ranked Match." For Casual and Ranked, choosing one shows "Connecting…" and then "Searching for an opponent…" while you wait until an opponent is found. While waiting, a spinning indicator appears to the right of the card you chose.

Ready Screen

This screen is titled "Opponent found: ○○." If your opponent is logged in, a tier badge appears next to their name. In the center are the "Ready" button and a "Time remaining: ○ s" number and bar, which count down from 10 seconds. When 3 seconds or less remain, the number and bar turn red.

Battle Screen

• HP bars: your opponent is on the left (red) and you are on the right (green), and each also shows "current HP / 1000" as a number. When HP falls to 20% (200) or below, the bar turns dark red and blinks.
• Prompt: the prompt is shown in large hiragana at the top center (in English mode, an English word).
• Romaji guide: below the prompt, a sample of what to type is shown in romaji. Characters you have already typed are green, the next character is yellow and underlined, and characters not yet typed are gray. A different way of typing than the sample is accepted too, as long as it is another correct spelling (see the Romaji input guide for details).
• HIT! / MISS!: when you finish a prompt, a green "HIT!" is shown, and when you mistype, a red, shaking "MISS!" is shown, each for about 0.4 seconds.

Result Screen

One of "Victory!," "Defeat…," or "Draw" is shown. If the match ended because the ready time ran out, the reason is shown too. In Ranked Match, the change in points and your current tier are also shown, as in "Rank Points +105 → ゴールドⅠ (55/1000)." Press "Back to Lobby" to return to the first screen.

How to Play Each Match Mode

Casual Match

No login is required. When you choose "Casual Match," the game starts looking for an opponent and shows a waiting screen until one is found. Rank points do not change, so it suits you when you want to get used to the controls or just play casually.

Play with Friends (Room Code)

No login is required, and you play only against the person you share a code with.

1. The player who creates the room: choose "Play with Friends" and press "Create a Room Code." A 6-character code made of capital letters and digits is shown (the easily confused 0, O, 1, and I are never used). If your browser allows it, the code is automatically copied to the clipboard, and "Code copied. Waiting for your opponent to join…" is shown.
2. Tell your friend: send the code to your friend by chat or the like.
3. The player who joins: on the same "Play with Friends" screen, enter the 6 characters in the code field and press "Join." Uppercase or lowercase both work.
4. Once the join succeeds, you go to the ready screen.

A code can be used for one match only. If something goes wrong, one of the following messages is shown.

• "That room code was not found": the code may have been mistyped, or it may have expired after some time passed since it was created.
• "This room is already in use": someone else has already joined with that code.
• "The host has already disconnected": the player who created the code has lost their connection, for example by closing the page.
• "You cannot play against yourself": you cannot enter a code that you created yourself.

Ranked Match (How to Log In)

1. Press "Log in" in the lobby.
2. A screen for choosing a login method is shown, so log in with Google or an email address.
3. When you return to the lobby, "Logged in: nickname" is shown and the rank display (tier badge, progress bar, and points) appears.
4. Choose "Ranked Match" and the search for an opponent begins.

If you choose it while not logged in, "Ranked Match requires login" is shown. In matchmaking, opponents of a similar tier are preferred, and the longer you wait, the wider the tier gap allowed between you and your opponent becomes.

Setting and Changing Your Nickname

Your nickname is the name shown on your opponent's screen. You can set up to 20 characters.

• Guests: enter it in the nickname field at the top of the lobby. If you leave it blank, the name becomes "Guest" followed by random characters.
• While logged in: the first time you log in, your nickname becomes the name of the account you logged in with ("Player" if it cannot be obtained). Press "Change" next to "Nickname: ○○" at the top of the lobby, enter a new name, and press "Save" to change it at any time. Press "Cancel" to cancel.

A nickname is 1 to 20 characters, and leading and trailing spaces are removed. Control characters such as line breaks cannot be used. A changed name is shown to your opponent starting from the next time an opponent is chosen (the display in a match that has already started does not change). While logged in, your nickname is saved and carried over from then on. Your email address is never used as a nickname.

Flow of a Match

1. Match found: when an opponent is chosen, you move to the ready screen.
2. Ready: press "Ready" within 10 seconds. After you press it, "Waiting for opponent to get ready…" is shown.
3. Countdown: once both players have pressed it, the match starts after a 3-2-1 countdown.
4. Battle: finish prompts to whittle down your opponent's HP. 50 prompts are prepared for each match, and in a match between players of the same language, both players get the same prompts in the same order.
5. Finish: the match ends immediately when either player's HP reaches 0, and you move to the result screen.

If a Player Does Not Ready Up

In Ranked Match only, a win by default adds a fixed 50 points and a loss by default subtracts a fixed 50 points (a draw changes nothing). In Casual Match and matches against friends, points do not change.

How Damage Works

The damage you deal to your opponent when you finish a prompt is 50 + 25 × units, capped at 250. The damage you take when you mistype is a flat 25 per mistake, regardless of the prompt's length.

Units are how a prompt's length is counted. One hiragana character is one unit; a combination that includes a small character, such as "きゃ," "しゅ," or "ふぁ," counts as one unit even though it is two characters; and "っ," "ん," and "ー" each count as one unit as well. For example, "がっこう" is 4 units (が, っ, こ, う), and "でんしゃ" is 3 units (で, ん, しゃ). For English words, each letter is one unit.

* There are currently no 1-unit prompts (the minimum is 2 units). In terms of the formula, 1 unit would be 75 damage. About 80% of the current Japanese prompts are 2 to 4 units (100 to 150 damage).

Worked Examples

• Finishing "たいよう" (4 units): your opponent's HP goes from 1000 → 850.
• Making one mistake along the way: your own HP goes from 1000 → 975.
• To empty a 1000 HP bar using only 3-unit prompts takes 8 prompts (1000 ÷ 125); with prompts at the 250 cap, as few as 4 are enough.
• Five mistakes (125) cost as much as the damage from finishing one 3-unit prompt.

Romaji Input Guide

The romaji below the prompt is only a sample; every way of typing that gives the same reading is accepted. Even if shi is displayed, you may type si. If you mistype, that character is simply ignored and you take 25 damage, and your position in the prompt is kept as it is, so you can continue by typing the correct key again.

Basic Spelling Variants

Contracted Sounds (Sounds with ゃ, ゅ, ょ)

Sounds with Small Characters Used in Loanwords and the Like

A combination that includes a small "ゃ・ゅ・ょ・ぁ・ぃ・ぅ・ぇ・ぉ" (the contracted sounds and loanword sounds in the three tables above) can also be typed by entering the small character on its own with x or l. For example, "きゃ" can also be typed as kixya / kilya, "うぇ" as uxe / ule, and "ふぁ" as fuxa / fula.

The Long-Vowel Mark "ー"

You may either repeat the preceding vowel ("こーひー" → koohii) or press the - key on the keyboard as it is (ko-hi-). When the - key is hard to type, such as on a smartphone, repeating the vowel is handy.

The Small "っ" (Double Consonant)

Type the consonant of the next character twice ("がっこう" → gakkou, "まっちゃ" → matcha). Only before the "ち" row, you double the t. You cannot enter "っ" on its own with xtu or ltu.

How to Type "ん"

• In the middle of a word (when the next character is not in the な row): you can type n once and go straight on to the next character ("かんじ" → kanji). Typing nn twice is also possible.
• When the next character is in the な row (な, に, ぬ, ね, の, にゃ, and so on): to settle the "ん," type n twice, then type the な-row character ("んな" → nnna).
• At the end of a word: the prompt is complete as soon as you type n once. If you type nn, the second n is treated as the first character of the next prompt, which in most cases is a mistake (unless the next prompt starts with a な-row character).

Keys That Are Accepted

Only the a to z and - keys are accepted. Even if Shift or Caps Lock makes a letter uppercase, it is treated as lowercase. Keys such as digits, symbols, and arrows are ignored and do not count as mistakes. Input pressed together with the Ctrl, Alt, or Windows (Command) key is also ignored.

Rank System

In Ranked Match, "rank points" increase or decrease according to wins and losses. Points start at 0, and you move up one tier for every 1000 points. Because the tier is determined by points alone, if you keep losing and your points drop, you go back down to a lower tier.

Points Moved in One Match

The points that change are determined by the winner's remaining HP. The value of 10 + 190 × (winner's remaining HP ÷ 1000), rounded to the nearest whole number, is added to the winner, and the same value is subtracted from the loser. The range of change is a minimum of about 10 and a maximum of 200. Neither your tier nor your opponent's is part of the calculation.

• Example of a win: at 6950 pt in ゴールドⅠ, winning with 700 HP remaining gives +143 (10 + 190 × 0.7). You reach 7093 pt and are promoted to ゴールドⅡ (93 / 1000 pt).
• Example of a loss: at 6020 pt in ゴールドⅠ, losing when your opponent has 300 HP remaining gives −67. You are at 5953 pt and are demoted to シルバーⅡ (953 / 1000 pt).
• Draw: points do not change.
• Lower limit: points stop at 0 and never go negative.
• Win or loss by default: a win or loss caused by the ready time running out is a fixed ±50 points, regardless of remaining HP.

Players in Japanese mode and English mode may face each other in the same match. In that case, rank points may be adjusted to account for the difference in the number of keystrokes between the modes.

Battle Points and the Monster Gacha

When you play while logged in, you earn "Battle Points" with every match. Using the points you have earned to pull the "Monster Gacha" gets you a monster that appears in Stella Orbs, and you can have it fight for you on the battle screen as your own monster. Guests can play too, but they do not earn points.

• How points are earned: you earn 1 point for each kana (unit) typed correctly. You gain 70 points for a win and 35 points for a draw. This is the same in Casual Match, Ranked Match, and matches against friends. Login is required.
• Number of pulls and cost: each pull costs 300 points, and you can also pull 10 at once. If you pull a monster you already have, 90 points are returned.
• Monsters you can get: there are 70 kinds in all, each with the same probability (1/70). You can check the list from "Available monsters" on the gacha screen.
• The role of monsters: they are a cosmetic element only and do not affect HP, damage, or wins and losses.
• Stella Orbs characters: characters you own in Stella Orbs can also be chosen from "Stella Orbs characters" in the collection and used to fight.

Battle Points cannot be purchased or exchanged for cash.

Reading the Match History Page

While logged in, pressing the "Match History" button in the lobby opens the match history page. Matches you play while logged in (Casual, Friends, and Ranked) are recorded; guest matches are not kept. Matches that ended because the ready time ran out, or in which the connection was lost partway, are not included in the statistics.

• Summary: shows total plays, wins, draws, and losses, win rate, total play time, total keys typed, and total typing mistakes.
• Speed and miss rate: "Average typing speed" is the average (in ms per character) of the time elapsed since the previous input for each key typed correctly; the smaller the number, the faster you are. "Average miss rate" is the share of mistakes among the keys you typed. Each is shown for "First 10 matches," "Overall," and "Last 10 matches," so you can compare them to see whether you are improving.
• Rank point progress: shows the points from each Ranked Match as a line graph. If you have not yet played Ranked Match, "No Ranked Match data" is shown.
• Key statistics (last 30 matches): among keys you typed at least 5 times, shows the "keys with the most mistakes" (up to 5, with miss rates) and the "keys typed fastest" and "slowest" (the top 3 of each, with average milliseconds).
• Match history: shows up to 50 matches, newest first, in a table with date and time, mode, result, match duration, speed, and miss rate.

If you open the page while not logged in, a message saying that login is required is shown.

Tips for Improving

These are techniques that follow from the damage and point formulas.

• Put fewer mistakes ahead of speed: a mistake is a flat 25 damage. Four mistakes cancel out the damage of finishing one 2-unit prompt (100 damage). The system makes it hard to profit from raising your speed at the cost of more mistakes.
• Choose the shorter way to type: damage is determined by units, not by the number of keys typed. si, ti, and tu take one key fewer than shi, chi, and tsu, and "を" takes just one key, o. You deal the same damage with fewer keys, which gives you an advantage.
• Do not rush on long prompts: the damage per unit falls the longer the prompt gets: 50 for a 2-unit prompt, 37.5 for 4 units, about 31.3 for 8 units, and about 20.8 for 12 units. Past 8 units the cap stays at 250, so the longer the prompt, the smaller the benefit of rushing, and the 25 damage from a mistake weighs more.
• Watch out for one-hit finishes at 250 HP or below: if your opponent finishes a prompt of 8 units or more, you take 250 damage. If your HP is 250 or below, avoid mistakes and type carefully; if your opponent's HP is 250 or below, the moment a long prompt appears is your chance to finish them.
• Mistakes also affect rank points: each mistake takes 25 off your remaining HP, and it also reduces the points you earn for a win by about 5 points (25 × 190 ÷ 1000 = 4.75). The larger your margin of victory, the more points you earn, so accuracy translates directly into rank growth.
• Fix your habits with "ん" and the small "っ": if you tend to type nn for a word-final "ん," you may make more mistakes. Check your most-missed keys on the match history page and review the corresponding ways of typing.
• Check your growth on the match history page: comparing the average speed and miss rate of your "First 10 matches" and "Last 10 matches" shows the results of your practice in numbers.

Playing on a Smartphone

On devices that support touch input, you can play by typing on the on-screen keyboard.

1. When an opponent is found, tap "Ready." This tap opens the on-screen keyboard automatically.
2. When the match starts, type directly on the keyboard that opened.
3. If the keyboard closes, tap the battle screen and it opens again.

• Input is done with the alphabet keyboard (romaji input). Input methods that go into Japanese conversion, such as flick input, are not recognized.
• The long-vowel mark can also be entered by repeating the vowel, so you do not need to look for the symbol key.

How to Play in English Mode

Choose English as the "Prompt language" in the lobby to play English mode, where you type English words exactly as they appear (choose 日本語 to go back to Japanese mode). You can change the display language with the language switcher at the top right of the page. The prompt language is chosen separately from the display language.

• Prompts: everyday English words (love, cloud, mountain, and so on) and English-language internet slang (rizz, sigma, doomscroll, and so on) are used.
• How to type: type the spelling shown, one character at a time, in lowercase. There is no alternative way of typing, as there is with romaji, and typing in uppercase is treated as lowercase.
• Damage: one letter is one unit, and the formula is the same as in Japanese mode. A 3-letter word is 125, and 8 letters or more is the cap of 250.
• Login and rank: login and Ranked Match work the same way in every display language. Tier names are shown in the display language you have chosen (for example アルミⅠ in Japanese and Aluminum I in English).
• Opponents: players in Japanese mode and English mode may face each other in the same match, and in that case each player receives prompts in their own language. For the rank point adjustment, see the Rank system.

Troubleshooting

Keys do nothing when pressed

• When Japanese input (IME) is on, key input may not get through. Switch to half-width alphanumeric input, for example with the Hankaku/Zenkaku key.
• If input focus is somewhere other than the page, such as the browser's address bar, nothing will respond. Click the battle screen and try again.
• Only the a to z and - keys are accepted. Pressing together with the Ctrl, Alt, or Windows (Command) key is also ignored.
• You also cannot type while the connection to the server is lost. In that case, return to the lobby and start over.
• If you make a mistake on "ん" every time, check How to type "ん" (at the end of a word, type n only once).

"Could not connect to the server" is shown, or it does not get past "Connecting…"

Check your network status, reload the page, and try again.

The connection was lost during a match

If your own connection is lost, "Lost connection to the server. Returning to the lobby." is shown; if your opponent disconnects, "Your opponent disconnected. Returning to the lobby." is shown, and you return to the lobby. Search for an opponent again from the lobby.

"Under maintenance" is shown

While the operator is carrying out maintenance, a notice screen is shown and you cannot start new matches. Please try again after a while. A notice from the operator may also appear at the top of the screen (you can close it with the "×").

"Ranked Match requires login" is shown even though you are logged in

Your login is valid for about one hour. If you open the page after it has expired, you are treated as a guest. Reload the page and log in again from "Log in."

"Login is required to use this feature" is shown on the match history page

The match history page can be used only while logged in. Return to the lobby, log in, and then open it.

Fairness and Contact

On the server side, we check the time from when a prompt is shown until it is finished against the limits of human typing speed. Input at an impossible speed is not reflected as damage.

You can send bugs, cheating, and requests to the operator through the feedback page. Guests can send them too. If you choose "Cheating report" while logged in, you can choose a related match from your recent matches and attach it. For how the information we collect is handled, see the Privacy Policy.

Related Pages

• Typing Battle strategy: damage, mistake, and rank point calculations, and points for real matches
• Romaji input chart (in Japanese): a list of accepted ways of typing, and a hiragana search

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