Memory test: how many squares can you remember?
Some squares light up. Then tap them in the same order. Get it right and one more square is added.
45 seconds. Your score is the longest sequence you got right.
On a grid of nine squares, a few light up one after another. You tap them back in the same order, and after every correct sequence one square is added. Your result is the longest sequence you got right.
How this memory test works
The game is called Memory Grid. You see a grid of three by three squares. First three of them light up, each for a little over half a second, with a short dark pause in between. Then it's your turn, and you tap them in the same order.
Get the sequence right and one square is added: four, then five, then six. Tap a wrong square and the game stops at once, even with seconds left on the clock. The clock is set to 45 seconds, so someone who makes no mistake plays on until the time runs out.
The pace stays the same for the whole round. We chose that on purpose. If the squares lit up faster as the sequence grew, you would be playing two games at once, remembering and keeping up. Now the only thing that grows is the length.
What your score says, and what it leaves out
After the round you see two numbers: the longest sequence you got right, in squares, and a game score from 0 to 100. The game score comes from a fixed curve. A sequence of three scores 20, five scores 50, seven scores 80 and nine scores 95. How that curve was set and where it falls short is on our scoring reference.
We show typical scores once enough people have played. An average over a handful of rounds would suggest more than it could support, so for now you see your own sequence and its place on the curve.
The score is about this game at this moment. Whether you are tired, playing on a phone or got distracted halfway through, it all ends up in the number. Two rounds in a row can be a few points apart without anything having changed.
Why the second round often goes better
In your first round you are also working out how the game responds. By the second you know that, and it often shows in a higher score. That is getting used to the game, which is exactly why we never present a second score as progress. Play a few rounds if you like, and compare the later ones with each other.
From one game to the full Brain Check
This page has one game. The free Brain Check has five: Memory Grid, Quick Tap, Pattern Sequence, Spot the Difference and Math Sprint, each lasting 45 seconds. With the instructions in between you're done in about five minutes. Afterwards you see a game score for each of the five and a Brain Check score, which is their average. It works without an account.
Other single games: the reaction time test, the attention test, the brain test with Pattern Sequence, and all five brain games on one page.
Frequently asked questions
- Does this memory test say anything about my health?
- No. It is a game with a score, and the score describes how you played this game today. It is not a medical test and not an assessment of your memory. If you're worried about your memory, talk to your doctor.
- What is a good score?
- On our scale a sequence of five squares scores 50 and a sequence of seven scores 80. We set those anchor points before anyone had played. Scores from real players will follow when there are enough of them to say something.
- Is my score saved?
- A single round on this page stores no score and asks for no account or email address. We only count that a round was played, without knowing who played it. The full Brain Check gives you a result page with all five games.