Brain games without a subscription. What is free, what you pay for once, and where the ads are
· 7 min read · Tyamka team
How Tyamka works without a subscription, what the free levels include, what a one-time purchase adds, where the ads are, and what to check before paying.
Tyamka is a set of 15 short brain games that you can play without a subscription. Every game is free up to level 5, in the browser or inside Telegram, with nothing to install. If you want the remaining levels, the full version is a one-time purchase. This article lays out exactly what is free, what you pay for, where ads appear, and how a one-time purchase differs from the subscriptions most brain training apps sell. If you just want to play, start with the Schulte table online, a grid of numbers you find in order.
What is free
All 15 games, up to level 5 in each. That is 75 levels without paying anything and without creating an account. Each game has 15 levels, and they get harder step by step, so the first five show you how the game works and give you a real challenge before the paid part begins.
A round takes one to three minutes. Your results and your best are saved, and every round is compared with your own previous best, not with other players.
Here is the whole list, grouped the same way as on the all games page.
| Game | Group | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Schulte Table | Focus | Find the numbers in order on a shuffled grid |
| Stroop Test | Focus | Name the ink colour, not the word |
| Arrow Rule | Focus | Answer the same way as the arrow or the opposite way, as the rule says |
| Odd Shape | Focus | Find the one figure that differs |
| Two Piles | Focus | Sort cards left or right by a rule that changes |
| Grid Trail | Memory | Tap cards in the order they lit up |
| Button Chain | Memory | Repeat a sequence that grows by one each round |
| Hidden Numbers | Memory | Remember where the numbers were and tap them in order |
| Go Signal | Reaction | Tap the circle as soon as it appears |
| Bigger Sum | Logic | Pick the expression with the bigger result |
| Target Sums | Logic | Remove numbers until rows and columns add up |
| Maze | Logic | Find the way from the dot to the ring |
| Opposites | Logic | Fill the board so dark goes on light and light on dark |
| Pipes | Logic | Turn tiles until the pipes form one network |
| Word Grid | Words | Join touching letters into words, in English or Ukrainian |
What you pay for
The full version opens all levels in all games, from 6 to 15, and removes ads. It is a one-time purchase with no subscription. You pay with Telegram Stars in our Telegram bot, and the price in Stars is shown before you confirm. Nothing renews and nothing is charged again later.
Skins are a separate thing. A skin changes the look of the board, the numbers and the buttons in all 15 games. The Standard skin comes with the game, and skins do not open levels or change the rules. After a long day of play the game may offer the skin of the day to try for free for a few hours.
You do not need to buy anything to keep playing the free levels. They stay free.
What happens after level 5
When you finish level 5 in a game, the Next level button on the results screen shows a lock. Tapping it opens a screen with the full version and its price in Stars. "Not now" takes you back, and you can replay levels 1 to 5 as often as you like, trying to beat your best on each.
The daily challenge also stays free for everyone. It picks one game and one level for the day, and on some days that level is above 5, so a free player gets to try later levels from time to time. The purchase screen repeats this in a line of its own, saying that levels 1–5 and the daily challenge stay free.
The full version adds levels and removes ads, and that is all. The rules, the scoring and the way results are saved are the same in both.
Where the ads are
Ads depend on where you play.
- On the website, the free version shows an ad after some rounds, not after every round.
- Inside Telegram, the game has no ads at all.
- After any purchase, ads are gone on the website too.
Ads appear only between rounds, after the results screen. They never interrupt a round in progress.
One-time purchase or subscription
Lumosity, Elevate and Peak, three of the best known brain training apps, are free to download and sell a premium subscription inside the app. Their US App Store pages, checked on 26.09.2026, say the subscription renews automatically unless you turn auto-renewal off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. A comparison of these and other free options is in free brain training alternatives.
The difference in practice:
- A subscription charges you every month or year until you cancel. If you stop playing but forget to cancel, you keep paying. A free trial often turns into a paid plan on a set date unless you cancel before it.
- A one-time purchase is paid once. If you stop playing for half a year and come back, nothing has been charged in the meantime and the levels are still open.
A subscription is not a bad model in itself. It can pay for an app that keeps adding games and content, and some people are happy to pay that way. It does ask you to keep track of a renewal date. With a one-time purchase there is nothing to track.
At launch Tyamka sells only one-time purchases. On the home page, under "Free and full version", the full version is described as a one-time purchase with no subscription.
What free brain games do not promise
Free or paid, practice usually makes you better at the game you practise. We do not claim that playing Tyamka improves memory or attention outside the games, and our points show how you did in a round, not what you are capable of. If you want to know what the research says about brain training in general, read does brain training work. It covers the large studies, the 2016 review and the FTC case over advertising claims.
How to check any brain game before you pay
These questions work for Tyamka and for any other app or site.
- What exactly is free? A number of levels, a number of games per day, a trial period or everything with ads. Look for a plain statement, not only a "Try for free" button.
- Does it renew? If the price says "per month" or "per year", it is a subscription. Find out how to cancel before you start the trial.
- Where are the ads? Between rounds, during rounds or only in the free tier. Does any purchase remove them, or only the most expensive plan?
- Do you need an account? Some apps ask you to sign up before the first game. Some let you play as a guest and keep your results on the device.
- Which language? Many apps are in English only. Check the store page or the site's language list before paying.
- What does it claim? "Fun and tracks your results" is a claim a game can keep. "Improves memory at work" needs evidence.
Where to play
On the website the games open in the browser on phones, tablets and computers, with no download. In Telegram they open inside the app as a mini app, with no ads. Your results are saved on the device you play on. If you buy the full version in Telegram and later sign in on the website with the same Telegram account, your purchase and your bests appear there too.
If you want a comparison with a well-known free reaction and memory test site, see free online memory and reaction tests. For a first round, the Schulte table takes about a minute, and the all games page has the rest.