Sequence, remember the order

What it asks of you

Sequence asks for visuospatial working memory, the space where you hold where things were and in what order, for a few seconds. It is the memory you use to retrace a route or follow a set of steps.

Every level asks you to hold one more step. The game finds your edge quickly and keeps you working right at it.

How to play

1. Watch the squares of the grid light up one by one.
2. When it is your turn, tap the same squares in the same order.
3. Right, and the next level adds one square. You start at level 3.
4. Wrong, and you lose one of your two lives and replay the same level.
5. Your score is the last level you complete.

The research behind it

The Corsi block tapping task has measured spatial span for decades, and Kessels and colleagues published its standard version with norms in 2000 (Kessels et al., 2000). Sequence uses the same principle on a screen.

Working memory tasks respond to practice. Scores on working memory tests rise when people take them again (Scharfen et al., 2018b), and the review by Simons and colleagues confirms clear gains on the trained task (Simons et al., 2016). Sequence gives you exactly that, a minute a day on one precise skill.

Seeing the path as a shape, or cutting it into small groups, are classic memory strategies (Miller, 1956). They are fair here, and learning to use them is part of the skill.

On your weekly card

Sequence feeds your Memory stat. It shares the memory slot of the morning routine with Constellation.

It is also one of the three games of your very first session in the app, with Duel and Go/no-go.

Questions

How many squares can people remember?

The sequence memory test places your level in a distribution of public games (Human Benchmark, 2026), and the working memory guide explains what limits the span.

Is it the same as the Corsi test?

Same principle, different layout. Corsi uses nine blocks placed irregularly, Sequence a regular 3 by 3 grid. The skill is the same, holding positions in order (Kessels et al., 2000).

Why two lives?

One slip of attention should not end a good game. The second life lets you replay the level and show what you can really hold.

Sources

1. Kessels R.P.C., van Zandvoort M.J.E., Postma A. et al. (2000). The Corsi Block-Tapping Task, standardization and normative data. Applied Neuropsychology 7(4), 252 to 258. doi.org/10.1207/s15324826an0704_8
2. Scharfen J., Jansen K., Holling H. (2018). Retest effects in working memory capacity tests, a meta-analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review 25, 2175 to 2199. doi.org/10.3758/s13423-018-1461-6
3. Simons D.J., Boot W.R., Charness N. et al. (2016). Do brain training programs work? Psychological Science in the Public Interest 17(3), 103 to 186. doi.org/10.1177/1529100616661983
4. Miller G.A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two. Psychological Review 63(2), 81 to 97. doi.org/10.1037/h0043158
5. Human Benchmark, score distributions embedded in humanbenchmark.com, read on 13 October 2026. Reaction time n 70 940, sequence memory n 35 868, chimp test n 27 233, number memory n 24 084. humanbenchmark.com