Grid memory game tips: five patterns to practise

For a grid memory game, try remembering a small shape and its location, then checking the gaps and exceptions. “An L in the top-left corner” is a more specific instruction to reconstruct than “some squares on the left”. The important part is to keep the shape anchored to the right cells.

These five original examples are tactics to try during a game, not promises about everyday memory. Each grid is 5×5. Rows run downwards, columns run across, and every filled cell contains a dot or letter so the pattern does not depend on colour alone.

1. Name a shape

Look at the four cells as one L: three down the left edge, then one to the right. Cover the picture and recreate it on paper. Check the orientation as well as the name; an upside-down L uses different cells.

This tactic is useful when neighbouring highlights form an obvious line, corner or block. It is less useful when you have to invent a complicated name for a scattered pattern. Do not force every layout into a familiar shape.

2. Anchor scattered cells to landmarks

Here the cells are separated. Use fixed landmarks: top-left, top-right, centre, bottom-left. Notice the missing bottom-right corner before hiding the grid. “Three corners and the centre” needs that exception to be accurate.

This helps when a shape could be shifted one cell without looking very different. Edges and corners give you something stable to count from. For a cell near an edge, describe the offset: one cell in from the right is different from on the right edge.

3. Remember the gap in a line

The concise description is “middle row, centre missing”. When reconstructing it, keep the centre empty. This is a useful option when a mostly filled shape has one conspicuous hole.

Do not remember only “a horizontal line”. That drops the very detail that distinguishes the target pattern. For sparse patterns, describing the empty space can be more work than naming the highlighted cells, so switch tactics when the layout changes.

4. Split two groups, keeping their positions

Describe A first, then B. A uses rows 1–2 and columns 1–2. B uses r4c4, r4c5 and r5c5. Notice that the groups have different shapes and sizes. Four plus three gives seven cells to check at the end.

This is worth trying on a larger pattern that contains separate clusters. Counting is a final check, not a replacement for location: seven taps in the wrong cells still makes the wrong pattern.

5. Look for the exception to symmetry

The first six cells mirror each other across the centre column. The extra cell at r5c2 breaks that symmetry. Remember the matching part, then explicitly add “bottom of column 2, with a gap above”.

This tactic helps when a layout looks regular at first glance. Check for a missing or extra cell before trusting that impression. A nearly symmetrical pattern is easy to misdescribe as a perfectly symmetrical one.

Use one short plan during the viewing phase

In Recall, highlighted cells appear briefly, disappear, and must be tapped again. The task is to reconstruct positions, not repeat a flash order. Later rounds can show bigger patterns with less viewing time. Start with one useful description instead of trying all five tactics at once.

After a miss, identify the kind of error: wrong orientation, shifted shape, forgotten gap or extra cell. That gives you something concrete to check on the next pattern. If order is what you enjoy, compare spatial patterns and sequences. For cards rather than cells, try our three missing-card puzzles.