What colour match measures
The daily gives everyone the same five colours and one attempt. Practice gives you fresh random targets every run, which is the only way to build the habit of matching lightness first and saturation last.
Colour matching by eye is trainable in a way most perception tasks are not, because the errors are systematic. Almost everyone undershoots saturation and overshoots hue on the first pass. Twenty practice swatches make that pattern visible and correctable.
Nothing here is recorded against the daily or shared. Your best practice score is kept separately so you can watch it come down.
Reading a Delta E score
| ΔE | What you would see |
|---|---|
| Under 1 | No difference at all |
| 1 – 2.3 | Only visible to a trained eye |
| 2.3 – 5 | Just noticeable side by side |
| 5 – 10 | Clearly different, same colour family |
| 10 – 20 | Obviously a different shade |
| Over 20 | A different colour |
| Average ΔE over five swatches | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Over 20 | Bottom fifth |
| 13 – 20 | Below average |
| 8 – 13 | About average |
| 5 – 8 | Above average |
| 3 – 5 | Strong |
| Under 3 | Top few percent |
How to match more closely
- Lightness first, every time. It is the dimension the eye judges most reliably. Once the two squares are equally bright, hue and saturation errors become obvious.
- Compare at the edge, not the middle. The squares touch. A visible seam means they differ; when the boundary disappears you are within a few Delta E.
- Practise on one device. Screens differ. Your improvement is real on the device you practise on, and only loosely transferable to another.
Frequently asked questions
Does practice affect my daily result?
No. The daily is one attempt on the day's fixed colours. Practice uses random targets and is never recorded against it.
Why does my score vary between devices?
Because the colours reaching your eye differ by screen. Brightness, colour profile and night mode all shift them. Compare against yourself on one device.
Is there a practice streak?
No. Only finishing the daily affects anything, so practice can be played freely.