Pattern Recall: free Simon-style memory game online

What is Pattern Recall?

Buffer lights up coloured pads one at a time. Watch the sequence, then repeat it back in the same order. Every round you clear adds one more step, and the playback speeds up gently. Pick Easy (4 pads), Medium (6) or Hard (9).

Pattern Recall is a free sequence memory game in the spirit of the classic light-up toy. Buffer lights the pads one at a time; you repeat the sequence in the same order. Clear it and the same sequence comes back with one more step on the end, a little faster each time.

Choose Easy with 4 pads, Medium with 6 or Hard with 9. Every pad has a colour, a shape and a number, the playback is read out for screen readers, keys 1 to 9 tap the pads, and the game stays silent unless you switch sound on. You have 3 lives: a miss gives you a fresh sequence of the same length.

At a glance

Category

Memory

Difficulty

Medium

Play time

3 min

Price

Free, in your browser, sign-up optional

How to play

Watch

The pads light up one by one, each with a white ring. Every pad has a colour, a shape and a number, so you never need to rely on colour alone.

Repeat

Tap the pads in the same order, or press 1 to 9 on a keyboard. Clear the round and the same sequence comes back one step longer.

Lives

A wrong pad costs one of 3 lives and gives you a new sequence of the same length. Sound is off unless you turn it on.

Score

Each cleared sequence scores its length × 10 on Easy, × 15 on Medium, × 20 on Hard, added up over the run.

Scoring

Each sequence you repeat correctly adds its length to your score, multiplied by 10 on Easy (4 pads), 15 on Medium (6) and 20 on Hard (9).

Each round adds one step and plays a little faster. A wrong pad costs one of 3 lives and gives you a new sequence of the same length. Your best score is kept in this browser.

What it trains

Working memory

Holding a growing sequence in order and playing it back.

Sustained attention

Following every step of a playback that speeds up as it grows.

Chunking

Grouping steps into short runs to remember longer sequences.

Strategy and tips

Say it in your head

Name the pads as they light ("red, blue, red, green"): words are easier to hold than flashes.

Chunk the sequence

Group the steps in threes or fours, like a phone number, instead of one long chain.

Only the new step is new

Each round repeats the last sequence plus one step, so focus hardest on the end of the playback.

Use the numbers

On a keyboard, remembering "1 3 2 4" can be faster than remembering positions.

Take a breath after a miss

A miss brings a brand new sequence: clear your head before it starts.

Why play Pattern Recall?

Repeating a growing sequence trains working memory and sustained attention, the same skills used to follow directions, remember a code or keep track of steps in a task. Because each round adds just one step, you always play right at the edge of your span.

Frequently asked questions