Sequence memory test

How to play

1. Press Start and watch.
2. Tap the same buttons in the same order.
3. Each round repeats the sequence with one more button.
4. A wrong tap costs a life, and the right button is outlined.

What this sequence memory test is

Button Chain shows a small set of numbered buttons. They light up one after another, and then you tap them in the same order. If you get the whole sequence right, the game plays it again with one more button added at the end, and you repeat the longer version. A level is two or three of these rounds, each one button longer than the last.

Each button always shows its number, 1, 2, 3 and so on. The numbers matter on the last levels, where the buttons move around. Until then you can follow the positions, the numbers or both.

Games where you copy a growing sequence of lights have been around since electronic toys in the 1970s. Button Chain keeps the idea but adds levels, a speed bonus, reversed order and buttons that swap places.

What changes from level 1 to 15

Levels 1 to 5 use four buttons in a 2×2 square. Level 1 starts with a sequence of 3 and ends with 4. By level 5 the rounds go from 5 to 6 buttons. On these levels the same button can light up twice in a row.

Levels 6 to 10 use six buttons. From level 6 on, a button never lights up twice in a row. The show gets faster, from 0.5 seconds per button on level 6 to 0.4 seconds on level 10, and the rounds get longer. Level 10 goes from 6 to 8 buttons in three rounds, the longest sequence in the game.

Levels 11 to 13 ask for the sequence in reverse. You watch it in the normal order and tap it from the last button back to the first. The rounds are shorter here, 4 to 6 buttons.

Levels 14 and 15 use nine buttons in a 3×3 grid, and after each show the game shuffles the buttons, though one may land back in its old place by chance. Positions are no longer reliable, so you have to remember the numbers. Level 15 goes from 5 to 7 buttons.

Levels 1 to 5 are free, all on the four-button board. The full version opens the rest. All level settings are our first guess and have not been tested on players yet.

How the points work

Each right tap gives 10 points and a speed bonus of up to 10. Until the first right tap of a round, the time counts from the end of the show, even if you miss first. After that it counts from your previous right tap. A tap in under 0.15 seconds earns the full bonus, then the bonus drops by one point for every 0.3 seconds and reaches zero at 2.85 seconds.

A wrong tap costs a life. The game outlines the button it was waiting for and you continue from there, but the show does not replay. You have three lives. When they are gone the level ends and you keep the points you have. When you finish a round there is a 0.7 second pause, and then the next show starts.

Since every round repeats the sequence from the start, a level asks for many taps in total. Level 1 needs 7 right taps, 3 and then 4. Level 10 needs 21. The most a level can give is 20 points per right tap, 140 on level 1 and 420 on level 10.

What counts as a good result

Some sequence memory tests online report a single number, the longest sequence you managed. This game gives no such number and no rating. The level sets the length, and the results screen shows your points, the speed bonus, the time, your mistakes and your previous best on that level. A good result is one that beats your best on that level.

Reverse levels and the swapping levels will probably feel like a step up even though their sequences are shorter. We have not measured that on players yet.

A few tips

Say the numbers to yourself as the buttons light up, 2, 4, 1, 3. A spoken list of numbers can be easier to hold than a pattern of lights.

On reverse levels, collect the sequence as it plays and read it back from the end quickly. The clock for the first tap starts the moment the show ends.

On the last two levels, ignore where the buttons were. Hold on to the numbers and find them in their new places.

Questions

Is the sequence memory test free?

Levels 1 to 5 are free. The full version opens all 15 levels. It is a one-time purchase with no subscription.

How long does the sequence get?

Up to 8 buttons, on level 10. Each level has two or three rounds, and every round adds one button to the same sequence.

Is the sequence the same every time?

No. The rounds of one attempt extend one sequence, and the next attempt gets a new one.

Can I play it online without installing anything?

Yes, once it launches. It will run in the browser on a phone or a computer, and inside Telegram. Levels 1 to 5 are free.

Does each button play a sound?

Not a note of its own. The game plays the same short sounds for right and wrong taps in every game, and you can switch them off. The buttons differ by position and by the number on them.

What happens after a mistake?

You lose a life, and the right button is outlined so you can go on. The show is not replayed. After three mistakes the level ends.

Why do the buttons move on the last levels?

So that position stops being a clue. On levels 14 and 15 you follow the numbers on the buttons, not where they sat during the show.

Will it improve my memory?

We make no such claim. The points show how you did in this game.