How the Flashback game works
Shapes change quickly on screen. For each new one you decide whether it is the same as the shape a given number of steps back. At first you compare it with the shape just before. At advanced levels the shapes are reported to have two colours, and you compare with the shape two or more steps back.
The number of steps back is the n in an n-back task, a standard test of working memory. The game is reported to last three minutes.
How to keep track of the shapes
Hold a short rolling list:
- Keep the last n shapes in your head as a list, oldest first.
- When a new shape appears, compare it only with the oldest shape on the list.
- Then drop the oldest shape and add the new one to the end.
- Name each shape in a word or two, such as “red star”, so you remember words rather than pictures.
- Ignore repeats at the wrong distance. In a two-back level, a shape that repeats the one just before it is not a match.
Worked example
A two-back level shows: circle, star, star, circle, star, circle. The first two shapes have nothing two steps back to compare with.
Shape 3, a star, is compared with shape 1, a circle: no match, even though it repeats the star just before it. Shape 4, a circle, against shape 2, a star: no match. Shape 5, a star, against shape 3, a star: match. Shape 6, a circle, against shape 4, a circle: match.
Tips for the real Flashback game
- Watch for repeats at the wrong distance. They are the easiest way to give a wrong answer.
- If you lose your place, rebuild the list from the next few shapes rather than guessing.
- Practise at two and three steps back, which is where the advanced levels are reported to go.
- Sit it in one quiet stretch. If something interrupts you, use the pause button.
Practise Flashback on CogniPrep
Our Flashback runs for three minutes. Each level is a block of 8 to 14 shapes at one step-back distance, from one step up to four, and you pass the block with 75% correct; a win moves you up two levels and a loss down one. Each shape stays on screen for 2.6 seconds at first, falling to 1.7 seconds, and no answer counts as no match. Pausing restarts the current block. Your score out of 100 is half how you do on the ladder and half how well you tell matches from non-matches.