Echo Match: a quick n-back game in your browser
Echo Match is a short n-back game: cards appear one at a time, and you decide whether each one matches an earlier card. For the first 25 seconds you compare with the card right before it, then the rule switches to two cards back. The whole run lasts exactly one minute.
Play nowFree · No download · Runs in your browser
How to play
- Press Start and watch the first card; it only needs to be remembered.
- For every new card, answer Match if it is the same symbol as the previous card, or No match if it is not.
- When the Phase Switch banner appears, memorize the next two cards, then compare each new card with the one two places back.
- Keep answering until the clock runs out, then read your score, accuracy, average reaction time and best streak.
What it exercises
N-back tasks are a classic way to put working memory under light pressure, and this working memory game adds a clock.
Working memory
In the second phase you hold two symbols in mind and update them with every card, dropping the oldest as a new one arrives.
Attention
Some Echo 2 cards repeat the card just before them. That looks like a match but is not one, so you have to stay on the actual rule.
Decision speed
Your average reaction time is shown at the end, which makes it easy to notice when you answer faster without losing accuracy.
Tips
- Say the symbols quietly in your head as a running pair ("moon, star", then "star, leaf") once the two-back phase starts.
- Protect your streak: every five correct answers in a row lift the multiplier, up to x4, and one wrong tap drops it back to x1.
- Echo 2 answers are worth 15 base points instead of 10, so a steady second half matters more than a rushed first half.
- On a computer, use the arrow keys: right arrow for Match, left arrow for No match.
- There are only eight symbols (star, drop, bolt, moon, leaf, ring, diamond, wave), so learn their shapes and you stop reading them.
Frequently asked questions
What is an n-back game?
It is a memory test where you compare each new item with the one that appeared n steps earlier. Echo Match uses 1-back for the first 25 seconds and 2-back for the remaining 35.
How do you play the n-back game?
Watch each card and decide: same as the target card or not. In Echo 1 the target is the previous card, in Echo 2 it is the card two back. Tap Match or No match, or use the arrow keys.
Can I play an n-back game online for free?
Yes. Echo Match runs in the browser on phones, tablets and computers. It is free, shows no ads and needs no download.
Is this the same as dual n-back training?
No. Dual n-back tracks two streams at once, usually a position and a sound. Echo Match is a single-stream version with symbols, built as a quick one-minute round rather than a long training session.
How is the score calculated?
A correct answer earns 10 points in Echo 1 and 15 in Echo 2, multiplied by your current combo. The final score places you in one of five bands, from Warming up to Echo master.
How often is the answer Match?
Roughly four cards in ten are matches, and the game never gives the same answer more than three times in a row, so guessing a pattern does not help.
Ready for a round?
It opens instantly in your browser. No sign-up needed to start.
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