Monkeytype Funbox Modes Explained: All 48 Modes

The Short Answer

I read Monkeytype's funbox list in its public code on 31 October 2026, and I checked its live server settings the same day.

Below, you'll see what each funbox does, which ones count for your records, and which to try first.

What I Checked

Monkeytype is open source, so its rules sit in public code. I counted 48 funboxes in its list, and every number here comes from these sources.

1. 1Monkeytype's funbox list, with each mode's name, description, difficulty level and personal best rule.
2. 2Server code that checks each result, which decides personal bests and XP.
3. 3Live server settings from the Monkeytype API, which set the size of the XP bonus.
4. 4Settings screen code, which shows how the funbox buttons behave.

The code can change with any update. If a mode acts differently on the site, trust the site over this post.

What a Funbox Is

A funbox is a special mode you switch on before a test. Monkeytype's settings text says these modes "change the website in some special way (by altering the word generation, behavior of the website or the looks)." It ends with a nudge: "Give each one of them a try!"

You'll find the funbox section on the settings page, in the behavior group. Changing a funbox restarts your test.

Funboxes stack. You can switch on several at once, and their effects combine. Some pairs can't work together, though. The settings screen greys out any funbox that clashes with the ones already on. Monkeytype's server also refuses a result with an impossible mix, or with the same funbox twice.

On the settings screen, most names show with spaces instead of underscores. So read_ahead_hard appears as "read ahead hard", and this post uses those names.

Which Funboxes Count for Personal Bests

This is the part most players miss. Of the 48 funboxes, 25 let a result count as a personal best, and 23 don't.

The rule is strict. A result counts only if every active funbox allows personal bests. Stack one blocked funbox with three allowed ones, and the whole result can't be a record. Monkeytype's code then gives "funbox" as the reason.

The daily leaderboard uses the same check. So a blocked funbox keeps a result off that board too.

Most funboxes that change the words lose personal bests. Those that only change the look usually keep them, such as mirror, upside down and earthquake. A few break the pattern. Rot13, backwards and ddoouubblleedd change the text you type, yet still count.

Our guide to raw and burst WPM explains the other numbers on the result screen.

The Funbox XP Bonus

Funboxes also pay extra XP, and here the difficulty level counts. Each funbox has a level from 0 to 3 in the code.

A test's base XP is 2 XP for each second of active typing. The live server settings put the funbox bonus at 0.1 per level, so each level adds 10% of the base XP.

1. 1Zero bonus comes from the 13 level 0 modes, such as plus one.
2. 2Ten percent comes from each of the 23 level 1 modes, the biggest group.
3. 3Twenty percent comes from each of the 5 level 2 modes, such as nausea.
4. 4Thirty percent comes from each of the 7 level 3 modes, such as memory.

Stacked funboxes add their bonuses together. A 60 second test with no idle time gives 120 base XP. One level 3 funbox adds 36 XP on top, and two would add 72, if the pair is allowed.

The bonus doesn't depend on personal bests. Even 58008, which can't set a record, still pays its level 1 bonus.

Modes That Change the Look

These funboxes leave the words alone and change how the page looks. All of them keep personal bests.

1. 1Mirror flips the whole test, as its description says: "Everything is mirrored!"
2. 2Upside down turns the test on its head.
3. 3Nausea makes the test sway, tilt and stretch.
4. 4Round round baby spins the test in a full circle every five seconds.
5. 5Choo choo spins each letter on its own.
6. 6Earthquake shakes the words.
7. 7Space balls sets yellow text on a black page with a moving picture behind it.
8. 8CRT adds scan lines and a glow, like an old monitor. Its description reads: "Go back to the 1980s."

Mirror, upside down and round round baby sit at level 3, so they pay the full 30% bonus.

Five of these move a lot: nausea, round round baby, choo choo, earthquake and space balls. The code tells them to ignore your device's reduced motion setting. If motion makes you feel unwell, skip them. CRT also isn't available on Safari 16.5 or older.

Modes That Hide Words

These funboxes test how far ahead you read. Every one of them keeps personal bests as well.

Plus zero shows only the word you're typing, and its description warns: "React quickly!" With plus one, plus two or plus three, you also see one, two or three words ahead. Those three sit at level 0, so they pay no XP bonus.

The read ahead modes work the other way round. They hide the word you're on, so you must hold it in your head while your eyes move on. Read ahead easy hides only the current word. The plain read ahead mode hides the next word too, and read ahead hard hides the next two as well.

That last one is level 3. It's among the hardest modes in the list, and it pays the full 30% bonus.

Memory Mode in Detail

Memory is one of the seven level 3 funboxes, and it still keeps personal bests. Its description reads: "Test your memory. Remember the words and type them blind."

It works only in words, quote or custom mode. When the test loads, Monkeytype shows the words with a countdown. Once the timer runs out, or as soon as you start typing, the words hide.

The code sets the timer from the word count. It raises the number of words to the power of 1.2, then rounds to the nearest second.

A 10 word test gives you 16 seconds to read. At 25 words you get 48 seconds, and 50 words give you 109. For 100 words, the countdown starts at 251 seconds.

So longer tests give a little more time per word, but far more to hold in your head. Start at 10 words.

Modes That Change the Words

This is the biggest group. None of these modes keep personal bests.

1. 1Gibberish replaces real words with random strings of letters.
2. 2Pseudolang makes up nonsense words that look like your chosen language.
3. 3Zipf picks words by Zipf's law, so common words show up far more often than rare ones.
4. 4Poetry gives you lines from poems, and wikipedia gives you sections of Wikipedia articles.
5. 5Weakspot picks words that use the letters you type slowly or get wrong.
6. 6Polyglot mixes words from several languages in one test.
7. 7ASCII uses only ASCII characters, and specials uses only special characters.
8. 8Numbers replace the words in 58008, a mode its description calls "A special mode for accountants."
9. 9Binary, hexadecimal, IPv4 and IPv6 fill the test with bits, hex codes or network addresses.
10. 10Morse turns each word into Morse code, so you type dots and dashes.
11. 11Arrows turns the test into a dance game chart. You press the arrow keys, or letter keys that the code maps to each arrow.

All of these sit at level 0 or 1, so they pay a small bonus or none.

Modes That Change Case and Spacing

These funboxes change how you type the words, more than which words you get.

1. 1Capitals starts every word with a capital letter.
2. 2ALL CAPS turns every letter into a capital, and asks "WHY ARE WE SHOUTING?"
3. 3rAnDoMcAsE mixes in capitals at random, while sPoNgEcAsE alternates them.
4. 4Instant messaging puts everything in lower case and strips some punctuation. You press Enter where a sentence would end.
5. 5Nospace removes the spaces, so the words run together.
6. 6Underscore spaces adds an underscore to the end of each word except the last.
7. 7Ddoouubblleedd makes you type every letter twice.
8. 8Backwards reverses the letters in each word and runs the text from right to left.
9. 9Rot13 swaps each letter for the one 13 places along the alphabet, a simple cipher called ROT13.

Only the last three keep personal bests. Backwards is also a level 3 mode. The rot13 description is itself written in ROT13, and it decodes to "It may not be secure, but it is fun to type!"

Modes for Practice

A few funboxes work as training tools as well as jokes.

1. 1Layoutfluid switches keyboard layouts during the test, in step with how far you've typed. By default it moves through QWERTY, Dvorak and Colemak.
2. 2Layout mirror does what its description says: "Mirror the keyboard layout." It's one of the seven level 3 modes.
3. 3Simon says hides the words and lights up the next key on the on screen keyboard. You type what the keyboard shows.
4. 4TTS reads the words aloud with your browser's text to speech.
5. 5ASL shows the words in a font of American Sign Language hand signs.
6. 6No quit takes away the restart. Its description is blunt: "You can't restart the test."

All six keep personal bests. For settings that help in normal tests, see our guide to Monkeytype settings that raise your WPM.

Which Funbox to Try First

Pick by what you want from the session. Each suggestion below keeps your records safe unless noted.

1. 1Reading ahead? Begin with plus one, then move to read ahead easy.
2. 2Learning a new layout? Use layoutfluid.
3. 3Fixing slow letters? Weakspot targets them, though it won't save a record.
4. 4Chasing XP? Memory and read ahead hard pay 30% each and keep personal bests.
5. 5Want a laugh? Try round round baby or earthquake, unless motion bothers you.

Turn the funbox off again before a test you want to compare with older scores.

Funbox vs a Normal Test

A funbox changes the test, so its scores don't compare with your normal ones. For tracking progress, a plain test is the one to watch.

Take plain tests of the same length for a fair read on your speed. Our practice page shows speed and accuracy as you type. When you want some pressure, a live typing race puts you against other players in real time. We make TypingFastest, so weigh that tip with that in mind.

Then switch a funbox on when practice feels stale. A few rounds of memory or read ahead can stretch skills that a plain test doesn't touch.