How the visual memory test works
Press Start test. A few squares in the grid turn dark for 1 second, then fade back. Tap the same squares, in any order. Each correct square turns green. When you have found them all, the next level starts on its own. Order does not matter here; for a test where it does, try the sequence memory test.
The test gets harder in two ways at once:
- More squares. Level 1 lights 3 squares, and every level adds one more. Level 5 lights 7 squares, level 10 lights 12.
- A bigger grid. You start on a 3×3 grid. It grows to 4×4 at level 3, 5×5 at level 6, 6×6 at level 10 and 7×7 at level 15.
The squares always stay lit for the same 1 second, however many there are.
You have 3 lives for the whole test. One wrong square costs a life: it turns red, the squares you missed are shown faintly, and the same level starts again with a new pattern. When the third life is gone the test ends. Your score is the number of levels you cleared, and your best score and recent results stay saved in this browser.
On a keyboard, the arrow keys move between squares and Enter or Space selects one.
What this test measures
The task taps visual short-term memory: holding a picture in mind for a few seconds after it has gone. It is not the same as the flash of afterimage you see for a fraction of a second. In 1974 William A. Phillips showed people patterns of filled cells in a grid, much like this test, and separated the two. A very brief, detailed "sensory" trace fades within a fraction of a second and is wiped out by whatever comes next. What survives for several seconds is a much smaller, more durable visual memory, and that is the store you are using here.
How big is that store? Steven Luck and Edward Vogel (1997) found that people can hold about four simple objects, such as coloured squares, in visual working memory at once. That sounds low next to the 10 or 12 squares you may manage in later levels, and the gap is the interesting part: you do not store each square separately. You see the lit squares as a shape, such as a zigzag, an L or a cluster in one corner, and you remember a few shapes rather than a dozen points. The chimp test rewards the same trick with numbered positions.
There is no published "typical level" for this exact game, so your result card shows your own history rather than a comparison with other people.
What affects your score
- Seeing shapes, not squares. Link the lit squares into lines and clusters. This is the main skill the test rewards. Turning shapes in your head is a related but separate ability, measured by the spatial reasoning test.
- Where you look. Keep your eyes on the centre of the grid rather than chasing one corner; your peripheral vision catches more of the pattern.
- Tapping speed does not matter. There is no time limit after the squares go dark, so take a breath before you start tapping.
- Screen size. On a small phone, the 6×6 and 7×7 grids have smaller squares, which makes the pattern harder to take in. Compare your scores on the same device.
- Rest and focus. Like any memory task, scores drop when you are tired or distracted.
Is this a photographic memory test?
Not in the strict sense, even though many people search for a "photographic memory test" and land on pages like this one. True photographic memory, where an image is kept in full detail and read off later like a photo, has not been convincingly shown in adults. Psychologists study a related effect called eidetic imagery: a vivid image that lingers for a short time after looking at a picture. Ralph Haber's 1979 review found it in only a small minority of children and very rarely in adults. A high score on this test means you encode patterns efficiently, not that you have a camera in your head.
Limits of an online test
This is a self-check for curiosity and practice, not a medical or psychological assessment. Your score depends on your screen, the time of day and luck in how the squares cluster, so judge yourself by your best of several rounds. If you notice real changes in your memory in daily life, talk to a doctor.
More memory games are on the memory and brain tests page.
Sources
- Phillips, W. A. (1974). On the distinction between sensory storage and short-term visual memory. Perception & Psychophysics, 16(2), 283–290.
- Luck, S. J., & Vogel, E. K. (1997). The capacity of visual working memory for features and conjunctions. Nature, 390(6657), 279–281.
- Haber, R. N. (1979). Twenty years of haunting eidetic imagery: Where's the ghost? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2(4), 583–594.
Frequently asked questions
How does the visual memory test score me?
Your score is the number of levels you clear before losing all 3 lives. Level 1 lights 3 squares and each level adds one, so clearing level 10 means you just remembered 12 squares on a 6×6 grid.
How long do the squares stay lit?
Always 1 second, from the first level to the last. Only the number of squares and the grid size change.
What happens when I tap a wrong square?
You lose one of your 3 lives, the squares you missed are shown faintly, and the same level restarts with a new pattern. After the third mistake the test ends.
Does the order in which I tap matter?
No. Tap the lit squares in any order and take as long as you like. Only wrong squares count against you.
Is this a photographic memory test?
Not really. True photographic memory has not been convincingly shown in adults. This test measures visual short-term memory, and high scores come from seeing the lit squares as shapes rather than single points.
How can I get a higher score?
Look at the centre of the grid, group the lit squares into lines and clusters, and pause for a moment before tapping. Play on the same device each time so the square size stays the same.