Path Recall

How to play

A path lights up on the 4x4 grid, one tile at a time, then the grid goes blank. Your job is to tap the same tiles in the same order from memory. Each level adds one more tile to the path and plays it back a little faster. One wrong tap ends the run, and your score is the last level you cleared.

Tips

• The path never visits the same tile twice, so you never need to tap a square you already used.
• Name the positions to yourself as they light up (corner, middle, edge). Saying beats staring.
• Group the path into chunks of two or three tiles instead of holding one long list in your head.
• Playback hits top speed around level 10, so build your chunking habit in the easy levels.

Sequence memory versus spatial memory

This game asks for two things at once: where the tiles were, and in what order. Holding a set of positions is spatial memory. Holding their order is sequence memory, the same faculty a Simon game tests. Combining them is harder than either alone, because you cannot simply photograph the grid; you have to encode a route through it.

That is why the tips all point at turning the path into a shape or a story. A route you can describe, down, right, right, up, is far easier to hold than four unrelated squares, and it survives the speed increase that comes with each level.

Holding longer paths

• Trace the path with your eyes as it plays, so your memory of it is a movement rather than a series of flashes.
• Name the turns. Left, down, down, right is easier to keep than four coordinates.
• The path never revisits a tile, so once a square has been used you can rule it out of the rest of the sequence.
• Replay it in your head once before you start tapping. A single rehearsal is cheap and catches the tile you were about to forget.
• The playback speeds up a little every level. If you are losing the end of the path, the problem is rehearsal time, and the fix is to name the turns faster rather than watch harder.

Common questions

Can the path cross the same tile twice?

No. Every tile in a path is unique, so a square you have already tapped is never the next one.

What is my score?

The last level you cleared. Each level adds one tile to the path and plays it back slightly faster.

Does a single mistake end the run?

Yes. One wrong tap ends the run, and your best level is saved on this device.