Stare Master: the staring contest for those who can't look away

July 28, 2026 by MASH+ Team

Stare Master. Don't blink. A 3D cartoon man in a flat cap with a grey moustache stares out next to a Play button.

Stare Master is a staring contest against a 3D opponent, and your front camera is the referee. Blink and you lose. That's the whole game.

It's free on the App Store and takes about two seconds to learn… or lose.

Ben Stein on a beach in the Clear Eyes commercial, holding up a giant eyeball beach ball under a shower head — Your eyes are going to water. Maybe you need Clear Eyes.

How a round works

Hold the phone up so it can see your face and tap Play. An opponent fills the screen and looks straight at you. From there you do nothing, which turns out to be the hard part. Face tracking reads your eyelids while you play, so the round ends the moment you blink. Looking away ends it too.

The timer at the top counts how long you've held on. The counters either side of it track your wins and your current streak.

Stare Master main menu with Play, Stare-a-thon, Options and Game Center buttons — Play, or go straight to Stare-a-thon.

Choose Opponent screen showing three 3D characters: Elder Man, Teenager and Baby — Elder Man, Teenager, or Baby.

A 3D elder man in a flat cap staring at the camera with a timer reading 11.9 seconds — The elder man, 11.9 seconds in.

You Win panel over a defeated opponent, showing one win and a streak of one — He blinked first.

Gauntlet Cleared screen offering Try Normal and Try Hard after beating every opponent on Easy — Easy cleared. Normal is waiting.

Two ways to play

Versus

Your opponent doesn't sit there politely. They squint, they lean in, they pull faces, and it gets worse the longer you hold on. Outlast their taunts and see if they give up first.

Stare-a-thon

No one to beat but the clock. How long can you go without a single blink? Set a record, then send the time to a friend and watch them insist they can do better.

Choose your opponent

There are three opponents: an elder man in a flat cap, a teenager, and a baby. The baby is the worst one to face. See: Why do babies stare?

Each opponent plays at Easy, Normal, or Hard, and beating all three at one difficulty clears the gauntlet and points you at the next tier up. Hard is not in a hurry to blink.

Your face stays on your phone

Blink detection runs on your device using the front camera. Nothing about your face is uploaded anywhere, and the camera is only in use while a round is running.

Leaderboards and achievements

Stare Master plugs into Game Center, so your best times land on the leaderboards and there are achievements to chase. Share a Stare-a-thon time in a group chat and you'll have a rivalry going by lunch.

Where to get it

Stare Master is free on the App Store for iPhone and needs iOS 18 or later. It comes from the same studio that makes MASH, so you can go from predicting who you'll marry to losing a staring contest to a cartoon baby in about a minute. Our other games are on the apps page, including Truth Truth Lie and SketchParty TV.

Download Stare Master on the App Store and stare if you dare!

Ready? Eyes open. Don't blink.