diff --git a/GameArena.java b/GameArena.java
index e31ecbd..e1d4f5b 100644
--- a/GameArena.java
+++ b/GameArena.java
@@ -359,5 +359,18 @@ public boolean spacePressed()
 		return space;
 	}
 
+    //NB use lazy instantiation
+    private String[] names=null;
+	/**
+	 * Gets the known colour names.
+	 * @return an array of the names of pre-defined colours known by the GameArena
+	 */
+	public String[] getDefaultColourNames(){
+		if (names==null){
+			names = colours.keySet().stream().toArray(String[]::new);
+		}
+		return names;
+	}
+
 	
 }