The Zone of Proximal Development
To enter "The Zone" (or Flow State), a game cannot be too hard (anxiety) or too easy (boredom). It must sit perfectly in the middle, a concept pioneered by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
The Neurochemistry of "Arcade Mode"
When you play games like Word Ladder or Nexus, you are engaging the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC). This is the CEO of the brain.
For neurodivergent individuals (ADHD/ASD), the PFC often struggles with initiation. A wall of text feels like a mountain. But a single button that says "Start" and a timer that counts down from 60 seconds bypasses the executive dysfunction. The brain doesn't have time to dread the task; it is forced to react to it.
Why We Built "Social Battery" Tests
Speed isn't just about trivia. It's about self-diagnosis. We realized that users were using our Social Battery Test not just for fun, but to validate their feelings of burnout. By making the interface fast and responsive, we allow users to access emotional data without the slog of a clinical questionnaire.