Free online memory games: working memory

Working memory · 20 games

Working memory is the ability to keep information in mind for a few seconds while using it: remembering a code long enough to type it, following a multi-step instruction, calculating in your head. It is limited — a few items at a time — and that is exactly what makes these games interesting.

How these games use it

These games ask you to remember and then recall: squares lighting up in a precise order, a grid that flashes for a moment, cards turned face down. Each round adds an item, up to the limit of your memory; your score shows where it stands today.

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The games

Sequence
Memorise the squares that light up, then tap them in the same order. Each round adds one.
Pairs
Turn the cards over two at a time and find all the pairs as fast as you can.
Flash Memory
Some squares light up together for a moment: find them all, in any order.
Anagrams
A five- or six-letter French word is shown: find another word made of exactly the same letters (CHIEN gives NICHE), then the next one. Any known anagram counts. You may skip a word (30 s penalty). Fastest wins.
Longest Word
Each round, letters are drawn. Make the longest word you can with them (each letter once) and submit it before time runs out. Your best word counts: one point per letter, double if you use every letter.
Route Memory
The car leaves the flag and drives square by square. When it is back at the start, repeat its route by tapping neighbouring squares one at a time. Route right: one point and one more square; wrong square: one life, and a new route. Most routes right wins.
N-Back
At each step, a cell of the grid lights up. Press "Same!" if it is the same cell as n steps earlier (1, 2 or 3 depending on the level); otherwise do nothing. Each "same" found scores a point; a miss or a false alarm costs a life, and the pace speeds up. Most points wins.
Number Memory
The number appears, then hides: type it on the keypad and confirm. Remembered: one point and one more digit next time. Missed: one life, and another number of the same length. Most numbers remembered wins; on a tie, the fastest.
Déjà Vu
A picture appears. If it has already shown up, tap "Seen"; otherwise, "New". Answer before the time bar runs out; it gets shorter with each picture. A mistake or running out of time costs a life. Most right answers wins.
What Changed?
Objects are laid on the board. Look carefully: they disappear, then come back with one change. An object may have appeared, disappeared or been replaced: tap its place, even if empty. One more object each round; a mistake costs 2 seconds. Fastest wins.
Chimp Test
Numbers from 1 to n appear on the grid. Take your time to memorize them, then tap the 1: the others hide. Tap the cells in order. Grid cleared: one point and one more number; mistake: one life. Most grids cleared wins; on a tie, the fastest.
Math Rush
Each tile hides a sum. Tap them from the smallest to the largest result.
Secret Code
Crack the secret code: ● right place, ○ right color in the wrong place.
Sudoku
Fill the 6 × 6 grid: each digit 1–6 once per row, column and box. A mistake costs 3 s.
Mystery Word
Enter existing words. Green: right letter, right place; yellow: in the word elsewhere; grey: not in the word. Find it before you run out of tries.
Hangman
Pick a letter: if it's in the word it shows in every spot; if not, you lose a life. Find each word before running out of lives. Each miss adds 3 s to your time, a lost word one minute.
Spider Solitaire
Place a card on one a rank higher, whatever its suit; a run of one suit moves as a block. A full run from king to ace is cleared. Deal ten cards when stuck (no empty column).
Einstein's Riddle
Each house has one symbol of each category (colour, pet, drink…), never twice the same. Read the clues and place every symbol in its house (a column of the grid): "immediately left" means the neighbouring house on the left, "next to" either neighbouring house.
Word Ladder
Start from the top word and reach the bottom one. At each step, change one letter (without moving the others): the new word must exist. Tap the letter to change, then the new one on the keyboard. Letters already in place are green; fastest wins.
Shell Game
The ball is shown under a cup, then the cups swap two at a time. When they stop, tap the one hiding the ball. Each round adds a swap and goes faster; a mistake costs a life. Most balls found wins.

Getting the most out of it

Play a few minutes regularly rather than one long session; start on easy, then move up a level once your time settles; compare yourself with yourself from one day to the next. These games are first and foremost entertainment: they draw on these abilities, but they are not a medical device, and progress in a game does not guarantee progress elsewhere. What they offer: a few minutes of active focus, measured, that you can compare from one day to the next and with your friends.

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