Memory Games
Hold it in your head: colours, positions, sequences and grids that you see only briefly.
About this category
Memory is not one thing. The games in this category separate it into the parts that psychologists study: what you saw, where it was, in what order it came and what has just changed. Some tests hold a picture in mind for a moment, others keep a running count that updates, and some demand a stream of attention that never rests.
Color Memory, Position Flash and Vanishing Shapes test what and where you saw. Grid Pattern and Sequence Sum are about order and updating, and Count Flash asks for a count of events. Pairs is the classic card game, N-Back is the research favourite for working memory and Change Spot tests how well you notice what changed.
Every round shows what was right, so you learn what you remembered and what you missed.
The 9 Memory games
Why train this?
Working memory, the small workspace that holds what you are thinking about, is surprisingly limited. Research puts its capacity at about three to four items for objects, which is why shopping lists, phone numbers and passwords are so easy to get wrong. Strategies such as grouping, naming and building a story can make better use of it.
Games are a good place to test these strategies because the feedback is instant. We do not claim that training memory makes you more intelligent in general, since studies of such transfer are mixed. What practice does reliably improve is the task you practise and, with the right strategy, your confidence in using your memory.
How to improve
- Group what you see into chunks: shapes, rows, pairs. Four chunks are easier than twelve single items.
- Name things silently. A word attached to a picture gives you a second path to the memory.
- Update, don't store. For sums and counts, keep one running number instead of all the parts.
- Use landmarks for positions: corners, edges and the middle of the screen.
- Don't try to hold on to old rounds. Each round is independent; clear your mind between rounds.
- Play when you are rested. Memory is the first thing to suffer from tiredness and distraction.