UX Spot the Flaw: free UX game to learn usability basics

What is UX Spot the Flaw?

Twelve made-up app screens, from a weather app to a bank transfer, each hide one usability problem: text too pale to read, a close button too small to hit, a button label that confuses, an error with no message. Tap the flaw before the clock runs out, then see why it makes users leave and how to fix it.

UX Spot the Flaw is a free UX design game. Each round shows a made-up app screen, a weather app, a bakery pop-up, a checkout, a bank transfer, with one usability problem hidden in it. Tap the part of the screen that would make real users stumble or give up before the clock runs out.

Every answer names the flaw, explains why it hurts, and flips the screen to a fixed version so you can compare before and after. The first screens have obvious problems like pale text or a tiny close button; later ones are subtler: a date field with no format, a pre-ticked box, an upload with no progress.

At a glance

Category

Skillz

Difficulty

Easy

Play time

2–4 min

Price

Free, in your browser, sign-up optional

How to play

Read the goal

Above each phone, one line says what the user is trying to do.

Tap the flaw

Every part of the screen is a button. Tap the one with the problem before the timer runs out.

Score

100 points per flaw plus up to 50 for speed. A wrong tap or a timeout costs one of 3 lives.

Learn the fix

Each answer names the problem, explains it and shows the screen before and after the fix. Screens get subtler as you go.

Scoring

Each flaw found scores 100 points, plus up to 50 for tapping fast.

A wrong tap or a timeout costs one of 3 lives. Twelve screens in three tiers, from obvious to subtle, with a shorter clock each tier.

What it trains

UX basics

Contrast, tap-target size, clear labels, visible status.

Thinking like a user

Starting from what the person is trying to do.

Fixing, not just finding

Seeing each screen before and after the fix.

Strategy and tips

Start from the goal

Read what the user wants to do, then look at what stands in their way.

Squint at the screen

Text you can barely read, or a main button you can't find at a glance, is usually the flaw.

Check the words

Labels like "OK", "click here" or a double negative confuse people even when the design looks clean.

Look for what's missing

An error with no message, an upload with no progress, a delete with no undo: absence is a flaw too.

Think one-handed, in the sun

Small targets and low contrast hurt everyone on a phone, not just people with a disability.

Why play UX Spot the Flaw?

Usability problems are expensive: people abandon sign-ups, checkouts and apps over a missing message or a confusing button. The good news is that most come from a short list of principles, contrast, target size, clear labels, visible status, forgiving errors, that anyone can learn to spot. UX Spot the Flaw trains the eye in a few minutes, whether you design, build, write or just review apps.

Frequently asked questions