COMPLETE GUIDE · 5 MIN READ

How to play SplitPulse: judge area rather than distance

Learn how the cut line, target area, three rounds, and percentage-point error work in SplitPulse.

PulsePuzzle · Reviewed October 13, 2026

SplitPulse shows a shape and a target percentage. Drag a straight cut line until you think the smaller of the two pieces contains that share of the shape's area, then commit the cut. A daily attempt contains three shapes, drawn from geometric outlines and animal silhouettes such as cats, dogs, horses, and elephants. The challenge is estimating area; placing a line a certain percentage along the width is only equivalent for some shapes and orientations.

Move the line, then commit

Open SplitPulse and read the target for the smaller slice. A cut dividing a shape into 30% and 70% scores as 30%, whichever way you drew the line. The smaller piece can lie on either side. The target can be 10%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 33.3%, 40%, or 50%, so begin by finding the smaller region rather than choosing a fixed left or lower side.

1. Read the target for this round.
2. Inspect the outline and identify a rough half-area cut.
3. Touch and drag across the shape to draw a line; on a computer, click and drag.
4. Redraw the line or use Clear if you want another estimate before committing.
5. Commit when ready, then inspect the actual percentage and the error.

Changing the angle changes which parts of the shape the line crosses. After redrawing it, reconsider the estimate rather than assuming the old position is still close. The game does not show the slice percentage before commitment, and each round's committed cut is final for that attempt.

Use the right reference for the shape

Rectangles: width can represent area

A vertical line in a rectangle gives a convenient starting point. A cut 30% of the width from either edge makes a 30% smaller slice, because the height is constant. The same shortcut does not necessarily apply after rotating the line; the cut may then include triangular pieces at the corners.

Triangles: narrow ends hold less area

For a triangle pointing upward, a horizontal cut halfway down its height encloses only one quarter of the total area above the line. The small triangle has half the original height and half the original width, so its area is one half times one half. Half the distance is not half the area.

Circles and polygons: inspect the outline

A diameter divides a circle into equal halves. Moving a line toward the edge removes progressively narrower strips, so equal movements do not always change the area equally. Pentagons and hexagons have similar variation where their sides taper. Animal silhouettes add legs, ears, tails, and gaps that make width an unreliable guide. The game estimates area by counting filled pixels on each side of the line, so the displayed feedback is an approximation at the drawing's resolution.

How the three-round score works

Each round's error is the absolute difference between the smaller slice's area percentage and the target. A 35% target with a 38% smaller slice has an error of 3 percentage points. A 25% target with a 22% smaller slice also has an error of 3 percentage points. The two mistakes do not cancel: together they add 6 to your total.

The total adds the three round errors, so lower is better. This is accuracy scoring, not a speed race. Your local record can help you see whether a certain shape or line orientation repeatedly causes trouble. Comparing a single difficult day with an easy one gives less useful evidence than examining the individual cuts.

Try an area exercise

A triangle has its point at the top and a horizontal base below. You want the small region above a horizontal cut to contain 25% of the whole triangle. Should the line sit one quarter or one half of the way down from the point?

The daily shapes change at midnight at a fixed UTC−5 offset, with Day #1 on April 12, 2026. Archive dates preserve that schedule and count as practice, with no daily streak effect. Read the worked area example to compare rectangles and triangles, then try today's three cuts.