Can You Draw a Cool S?

What it is

Can You Draw a Cool S? is a timed test of the one drawing everyone learned at school and nobody was taught: the pointy S made from two rows of three lines. The game gives you fourteen dots on a torn sheet of lined paper and asks you to join them correctly as fast as you can, pencil sounds included.

How to play

Press Get Doodling. A notebook page appears on a wooden desk with the dots laid out in the shape and a timer at 0.00. Drag from dot to dot to draw each line. The faint template fades as you start, and the timer runs from your first stroke. A sound toggle sits top-right, and there is a menu for the rest of the site. That is the whole interface: dots, pencil, clock, and a number you will want to beat.

What makes it different

It takes a doodle that half the world can draw without thinking and turns it into a speedrun, which exposes how little you actually remember: the two rows of three, the diagonal joins, the pointed top and bottom. The presentation is the joke, a real-looking notebook and a pencil scratch for every line, as if this were a serious drawing exam. It takes thirty seconds and you will do it four times.

Why it is on Bored

A timed test of a playground doodle is about as useless as a thing can be, and everyone has an opinion about how the S is supposed to go, which makes it a good one to pass around the office.

Tips

• Plan the route before your first stroke, the clock starts with it
• Go again, the second attempt is always faster
• Turn the sound on for the pencil, it helps the timing somehow
• Send your time to someone who claims they can draw it

FAQ