Number Memory Test

Number Memory tests how many digits you can hold in your short-term memory — what psychologists call your digit span. A number appears for a few seconds: one second plus six tenths of a second for each digit. When it disappears, type it back. Get it right and the next number is one digit longer; get it wrong and the game ends, showing the number and what you typed. Your score is the longest number you remembered, and your best is kept on this device. The classic finding, from George Miller’s 1956 paper “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two”, is that most people can hold about seven digits at once; with practice and tricks such as grouping digits into chunks (the number is shown in groups of three to help), many people reach ten or more. It is a simple, honest measure, and fun to try to beat.

1. Press Start; a one-digit number appears.
2. Remember it until it disappears.
3. Type it and press Check (spaces are ignored).
4. Each right answer adds a digit; one wrong answer ends the game.

• One wrong answer ends the game, so a slip of a finger counts; check before pressing Check.
• Numbers never start with 0, so the length is what it appears to be.
• The game runs in your browser. Your best is kept on this device only.

About seven, give or take two. Grouping digits into chunks of three helps.

Digit span is one part of working memory. It improves with practice and techniques, so treat it as a game, not a diagnosis.

Yes. The number is read out as it appears, and the answer is a normal text field.

Groups of three are easier to read and remember, as with phone numbers.