Chimp Test

How to play the chimp test

1. Press Start. Numbers from 1 upwards appear in random squares.
2. Memorise their positions, then click 1. As soon as you do, all the other numbers turn into blank squares.
3. Click the remaining squares in order: 2, 3, 4 and so on. Get them all and the next round adds one more number.
4. A wrong click is a strike. After three strikes the game ends and your score is the most numbers you completed.

Why is it called the chimp test?

In 2007, researchers at Kyoto University's Primate Research Institute showed that young chimpanzees, most famously one called Ayumu, could glance at numerals scattered on a screen for a fraction of a second and then tap their positions in order, outperforming university students at short exposure times. The finding suggested chimpanzees have a remarkable eidetic-like working memory for spatial layouts. Human Benchmark turned the task into a popular online test, and this version follows the same rules so you can compare scores.

Most people complete 8 to 10 numbers. Reaching the teens is excellent. Unlike the original experiment, there is no time limit for memorising here, so the challenge is how many positions you can hold in visual-spatial working memory before the board disappears behind your first click.

Tips

Trace a path through the numbers before clicking 1, rather than memorising each one separately; notice shapes, like a zig-zag or a triangle, and group nearby numbers. Stay calm after a strike: the board is reshuffled and you keep your level. The game runs entirely in your browser and no scores are stored online.