Try it, hide it, recall it
Free memory exercises for beginners
Practise remembering a grocery list, a number, or five items along a familiar route. Choose an exercise below, hide the answers, and see what you can recall. All are free; no account is needed.
Pick something to practise.
New to mnemonics? Begin with groceries.
Lists · at your pace
Remember 10 groceries
Study a grocery list, hide it, and type what you remember. Then build a story connecting the items and recall them again. The challenge checks which groceries you found; order does not matter.
Numbers · play any time
Number memory test
Watch a number appear, then type it after it disappears. Start with three digits; each correct round adds one. A mistake ends the run. Your score is the longest number you recalled correctly.
Numbers · a daily challenge
Daily Digits
Try today's sequence of growing numbers, the same for everyone. Type each number from memory; one mistake ends the day's attempt. Come back tomorrow for a fresh challenge.
The grocery challenge uses the same list twice, so a higher second score can also reflect seeing it again. These scores describe these exercises; they are not a medical assessment or a measure of your overall cognitive ability.
04 · Try it right here
A five-stop memory palace
Give each item a place. When you mentally revisit the route, each place becomes a cue for its item. A room you know is enough.
- Choose a route. Pick five distinct places in a familiar room and keep their order fixed. For this example: door, mat, chair, table, window. Substitute your own places if needed.
- Picture the scenes. Open the example below. Imagine each item interacting with its place, then walk through the five scenes in your mind.
Show the five scenes to learn
- Door: an umbrella springs open and wedges the door shut.
- Mat: a giant lemon rolls across it, squeezing out juice.
- Chair: a notebook sits down, flapping its pages like wings.
- Table: a candle drips a pool of wax over the edge.
- Window: a key swings against the glass with a sharp tap.
Close this panel before recalling the items.
- Hide and recall. Close the scenes, look away from the page, and mentally walk your route. Write down the five items in order before checking.
- Check the connection. Reopen the scenes. For an item you missed, make its action at that place more specific. After a break, walk the route again before looking.