Visual memory test

Q: What is a good level?

There is no published norm for this task to compare the result against. The band next to your result and the percentile from the scores of other players give you a rough idea, once enough data has been collected.

Q: Why is the second game usually better than the first?

The first time round most people remember individual tiles, then they start seeing the whole shape. It is not an improvement in memory, just a different way of organising the pattern.

Q: How many mistakes end the game?

You have three lives and every mistake costs one. After a mistake the same level is replayed with a new pattern, and the third mistake ends the game.

Q: Is the result related to IQ?

Not directly. It is one partial ability measured in a browser under random conditions, not an intelligence test.

Tiles light up in the grid for a moment. Repeat them in the right places. Each level adds one.

Visual memory

Watch which tiles light up.
Once they go dark, click to mark them.
Each level adds one tile and the grid grows over time.
You have three lives, every mistake costs one.

About this game

Visual memory here means holding the layout of a few points in space for a couple of seconds. The score is the highest level you reached.

Most people work differently than they expect: they do not remember individual tiles but the shape those tiles form together. That is why a second attempt often beats the first - you find your own way of organising the pattern.

It is one partial ability, not a yardstick for memory in general. The comparison with other players is a rough guide.

IQ test

See where you really stand

Games are a quick comparison. The IQ test goes deeper and gives you the full picture.

Start the IQ test

How to read your result

The score is the last level you completed. Level one lights up three tiles, each further level adds one and the grid grows over time - so one level late in the game weighs more than one at the start. You have three lives, and after a mistake the same level is replayed with a new pattern.

There is no published norm for this kind of task to compare the number against. The bands in the table are therefore only a rough split using the same thresholds as the result screen, and the comparison with other players is a rough guide.

	level
Excellent recall	≥ 12	A high level. Usually the player is holding a shape, not single tiles.
Strong recall	9-11	An above-average result, the pattern holds even in a bigger grid.
Average level	6-8	The level most attempts end at.
Lower level	< 6	A lower level. Often the first game, before you find your own approach.

What affects the result

The screen has a say too. On a small display you take the grid in with one glance, on a large monitor your eyes have to travel across it and you catch less. Add whatever is going on around you and the fact that tapping with a finger is less precise than clicking with a mouse, so some mistakes have nothing to do with memory.

While playing it pays to look at the middle of the grid and take the whole pattern in at once instead of scanning tile by tile. Most people find it helps to look for a shape in the pattern - a row, a corner, a triangle - and to always click in the same order, top to bottom for instance, so you do not lose track of the tiles you have already marked.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good level?

There is no published norm for this task to compare the result against. The band next to your result and the percentile from the scores of other players give you a rough idea, once enough data has been collected.

Why is the second game usually better than the first?

The first time round most people remember individual tiles, then they start seeing the whole shape. It is not an improvement in memory, just a different way of organising the pattern.

How many mistakes end the game?

You have three lives and every mistake costs one. After a mistake the same level is replayed with a new pattern, and the third mistake ends the game.

Is the result related to IQ?

Not directly. It is one partial ability measured in a browser under random conditions, not an intelligence test.

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How we calculate the comparison

The bands next to your result come from fixed thresholds that are the same for every player. The percentile is calculated from the scores of other players on this site, not from published norms, and it only appears once enough runs have been stored. The typing test has its own comparison for each language version, because the word pools differ. For the other games we pool all languages together.

Measuring conditions differ from person to person - a different mouse, a different screen, a different level of focus. So treat the comparison with others as a rough guide. The most useful number is your own history of recent attempts, which sits right next to the result.

These games are for practice and rough comparison. They are not psychological or medical diagnostics, and the result says nothing about your intelligence or your health.