Remember the cells that light up, then tap them after they disappear.
3 to 12 cells
1 min
Free, no sign-up
For the fairest comparison, retake on the same device.
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Results on screen · no email
About this test
A visual pattern span task: a set of cells lights up in a grid for under two seconds and you tap the same cells back. Each success adds a cell and the grid grows from three by three to five by five. The result is the largest pattern you reproduced before two misses at one size.
What this test reports
largest pattern
attempts
How the task works
A grid shows a set of lit cells for under two seconds.
Tap the same cells, then Submit.
A correct pattern adds one cell and the grid grows from three by three to five by five.
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Use the result
What this test adds
The grid grows with the pattern so that large patterns are not trivially dense, and the result is stated as a count of cells rather than a percentage that would hide the size reached.
A small next step
On a second attempt try naming the pattern's shape to yourself before it disappears and see whether the largest pattern changes.
Questions people ask
What does this measure that the sequence test does not?
This one asks which cells lit up, not in what order, so it is about holding a shape in mind. The sequence memory test next door keeps the same cells and asks for the order, which is a different thing to remember.
Is a phone a fair device?
Yes, though a small screen makes the five-by-five grid a tighter target, so a mis-tap late in the run can end an attempt that your memory had earned. Use the same device if you want to compare two attempts.
What should I do with the result?
Run it again and try naming the shape to yourself before it disappears — an L, a diagonal, a corner. If the largest pattern grows, what changed was your strategy rather than your memory, and that is the more useful finding.
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