Verbal Memory guide

Words appear one at a time. Say whether you have seen each one before in this run. Three strikes and it ends. How far can your recall take you?

How to play Verbal Memory

  • 3 lives
  • Seen or new

Goal

Say whether each word is one you have already been shown in this run.

How to play

  • A word appears. Answer whether you have seen it before during this run.
  • Answer SEEN for a word already shown, and NEW for one that has not been.
  • Correct answers continue the run and the pool of words keeps growing.
  • You start with three lives. A wrong answer costs one, and the run ends when they are gone.

Technique

The set you have to hold grows without limit, so rehearsal fails quickly. Recognition survives longer than recall - trusting the feeling of familiarity usually beats trying to search a remembered list, and the words that catch people out are the ones that only feel familiar because they are common.

Scoring

  • Your score is how many words you judged correctly before running out of lives.
  • Words repeat at unpredictable intervals, so there is no rhythm to lean on.