The Big Memory Challenge

This series of 8 tests will show what your individual memory strengths are. We also will teach you about some useful tricks that people use to enhance their memories, so you can try them out to see if you can improve your scores. The challenge is fun to do and should take ~15 minutes.

What is memory?

Memory is an important ability that we all have. When we talk about memory, we are describing your brain’s ability to learn new information so that you can use it in the future, like when you need to remember important dates during your history exam.

Imagine your brain as having its own personal library full of information (or memories) that you have stored over time. When needed, your brain accesses this library and finds the relevant piece of information to help you. Like any library, there is only so much space to fit information in, so your brain will filter out things you don’t find important or that you haven’t paid attention to. This filtering is important, for example when revising for an exam.

Everybody is different and so is the way they memorise things. Some people are best at learning visually whereas other might memorise things by talking aloud. The 8 games you are about to play are designed to test different aspects of your memory and show you where your strengths are. Once you have completed all the games, we will show you how you’ve done compared to the population and give you some recommendations on tricks that can help you to improve your memory. Good luck!