Statistics · Sequence Memory

Sequence Memory statistics

The whole distribution, where the numbers come from, and a calculator that places your own score inside it.

Take the test

Where your score falls

steps

Type a number to place it in the distribution below.

The percentile bands

BandScorePercentile
Top 1% 20 steps99th
Top 5% 16 steps95th
Top 15% 13 steps85th
Top 30% 11 steps70th
Median 9 steps50th
Bottom 25% 7 steps25th
Bottom 10% 5 steps10th

Bands reflect the level distributions published across the sequence-memory format, where most players stop between 8 and 10 steps.

How we will replace these numbers

The bands above come from other people’s published datasets, named under each table. They are the honest option while this site is new: quoting a percentile from a handful of our own samples would be worse than quoting someone else’s from millions.

Once a test holds more than a thousand clean samples of its own, the percentile switches to our data and starts showing the sample size next to it. Runs that lost focus or looked automated never enter that pool — see how we measure.

Questions

What is the average sequence memory score?

The median is 9 steps. Half of players score better than that and half score worse.

What is a good sequence memory score?

Nine steps is about average. Eleven puts you in the top 30%, thirteen in the top 15%, and sixteen or more in the top 5%.

How can I remember longer sequences?

Chunk them. Instead of nine separate positions, group them into shapes or paths — a row, then a diagonal — which turns nine items into three and fits inside normal working memory.

Is this the same as the Simon game?

The format is the same idea: watch a growing pattern and repeat it. This version uses a grid rather than four coloured buttons and does not use sound.