Numbers flash past at 0.2 seconds each. Add them and type the total — the flash anzan of Japanese abacus certification
How it works
Pick a level and press START; numbers appear and vanish one at a time. When they are gone, type the sum on the keypad and press ✓. A run is five questions, and four correct passes the level.
- Choose a level. There are twenty, from 10 kyu (four one-digit numbers at one second each) to 10 dan (fifteen three-digit numbers at 0.2 seconds each).
- After a 3-2-1 count the numbers start flashing. Nothing is ever shown twice.
- Then it is your turn: ten seconds to enter the answer, with the remaining time on a bar.
- Correct flashes green, wrong flashes pink and shows the real total before the next question.
- After five questions you get a pass or a fail, and the level you passed is your score. The result screen has a "next level" button so you can climb straight away.
- On a computer the number keys, Backspace and Enter all work.
The kyu and dan table
This is the table used across abacus flash anzan certification, unchanged. Everything is addition; difficulty comes from three knobs — digits, how many numbers, and how long each one is on screen.
| Level | Digits | Numbers | Each |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 · 9 · 8 · 7 kyu | 1 | 4 · 6 · 8 · 10 | 1 s |
| 6 · 5 · 4 · 3 · 2 kyu | 2 | 3 · 4 · 5 · 7 · 10 | 1 s |
| 1 kyu · 1 · 2 dan | 3 | 5 · 7 · 10 | 1 s |
| 3 · 4 · 5 dan | 3 | 10 | 0.7 · 0.5 · 0.45 s |
| 6 · 7 · 8 dan | 3 | 10 | 0.4 · 0.35 · 0.3 s |
| 9 · 10 dan | 3 | 15 | 0.266 · 0.2 s |
At 10 dan, fifteen three-digit numbers go by in three seconds total. That is about the limit of what a person can do by hand, so there is nothing above it.
How scoring works
| A run | Five questions at the level you chose. Four or more correct is a pass |
|---|---|
| Score | The level you passed. A failed run is not submitted |
| Ties | More correct answers ranks higher, then the faster answers |
| Answer time | Ten seconds per question. Running out counts as wrong and reveals the total |
| Difference from the original | Certification asks for seven of ten; this is shortened to four of five to keep a run brief |
How to get good at it
- Carry only the running total. Trying to remember the individual numbers collapses immediately. One number lives in your head: the sum so far.
- Add the tens first. See 47, add 40, then 7. Starting from the ones digit means the next number has already gone.
- Fix your eyes on one spot. Numbers always appear in the same place, so there is nothing to look at. Moving your eyes loses a whole number.
- Do not say them. Subvocalising "forty-seven" makes your reading speed the ceiling. Below 0.3 seconds you have to take numbers in as shapes.
- Climb one level at a time. Stuck at 3 dan? More runs at 2 dan is the faster route. Jumping to three digits before two digits feel easy breaks you on digit count.
- Drop what you miss. Freezing over one lost number costs you the ten that follow. Keep adding — four of five still passes.
Frequently asked questions
Can I see the numbers again?
No. Nothing stays on screen and there is no replay. Flash anzan is the event built to make that impossible.
Is there subtraction?
No. Everything is addition and every number is positive, so the total only grows.
Why is there a time limit on the answer?
It stops anyone recording the screen and reading the numbers back. Ten seconds is generous if you have already done the sum and far too short to review a recording.
Can I jump straight to a high level?
Yes. Nothing is locked. Try 10 dan first just to see the speed, then come back down.
How is this different from 30-second mental math?
Whether the problem stays on screen. Mental math measures how fast you compute what you can see; flash anzan measures how well you stack numbers that are already gone.
Related tests
- 30-Second Mental Math — arithmetic speed with the problem in front of you.
- Digit Span Memory Test — holding numbers with no arithmetic.
- Schulte Table — taking in a wide field without moving your eyes.
- N-Back Test — working memory measured directly.