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What Was It? score
TOP–
PTS–
Focus · about 1 minute
Wait, What Was It? Test
Remember the letter from two steps back? We measure your brain's scratch memory.
What Was It?
Remember the letter from two steps back? We measure your brain's scratch memory.
Tap when the current letter is the same as the one two steps back. Example: B → D → B, tap on the second B.
TAP OR SPACE ON A 2-BACK MATCH
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A friend shared this result. Hit "Try it myself" below to take the test!
Baselines are initial values and will be updated as real data accumulates.
HALL OF FAME
Checking the ranking…
Ability hexagon · Friend's record · 0/6
Hexagon 0/6Your overall tier appears once all six are filled
One test is enough to start filling your hexagon
- ReflexFriendNot measuredMeNot measured
- Hand speedFriendNot measuredMeNot measured
- DexterityFriendNot measuredMeNot measured
- MemoryFriendNot measuredMeNot measured
- PerceptionFriendNot measuredMeNot measured
- FocusFriendNot measuredMeNot measured
Solid = me · dashed = friend
Based on your personal best per test · a comparison within this site's baselines
Only the top 10 get their name up. No login, weekly and all-time.
The icon before a nickname is the primary pointer the measuring browser reported (phone = coarse, mouse = fine). It does not identify the actual input or device, and no icon means no information.
| # | Name | Record — What Was It? score | Date |
|---|
01
How it works
- A letter appears every 1.5 seconds. Just watch the first two.
- Tap when the current letter is the same as the one two steps back. Example: B → D → B, tap on the second B.
- After 30 letters you are done. Targets you catch (out of 10) raise the score; false taps lower it.
02
About this test
"Wait, What Was It?" is a 2-back working memory game. Letters keep changing, and you have to hold the last two in your head while judging whether the current one matches the letter from two steps back. Every new letter pushes the oldest one out, like a conveyor belt.
Ten of the thirty letters are targets (same as two steps back). The score is the share of targets you caught minus the share of false taps (out of 20), scaled to 0 to 100. Tapping everything scores 0, and so does tapping nothing. Tapping only on targets scores 100.
This is a concentration game played for fun. Compare results with yourself on the same device and in the same conditions. It is not a diagnosis or an assessment of any kind.
03
Tier table
| Tier | Result | Top % |
|---|---|---|
| Master | 100/100 or more | 1% |
| Diamond | 95/100 or more | 5% |
| Platinum | 90/100 or more | 15% |
| Gold | 75/100 or more | 30% |
| Silver | 60/100 or more | 50% |
| Bronze | 40/100 or more | 75% |
| Iron | Below Bronze | — |
Tiers are set by your top % alone. A result exactly on a boundary gets that tier. Baselines are initial values and will be updated as real data accumulates.
Show the raw baselines
| Result | Top % |
|---|---|
| 0/100 | 99.9% |
| 10/100 | 98.5% |
| 20/100 | 94% |
| 30/100 | 86% |
| 40/100 | 75% |
| 50/100 | 62% |
| 60/100 | 49% |
| 70/100 | 36% |
| 80/100 | 23% |
| 90/100 | 11% |
| 95/100 | 4% |
| 100/100 | 0.1% |
04
In everyday life
- Calls: holding a number someone reads out without writing it down.
- Conversation: tracking who just said what when several people talk.
- Cooking and work: remembering the ingredient you just added or the button you just pressed, then moving on.
05
FAQ
It is really hard. Any tips?
Rehearse the letters silently as a two-item queue: "B, D... B, D, B (match!)". Catching about half the targets is typical at first.
I tapped on a non-target. How much does it cost?
One false tap costs 5 points (one of 20). One caught target earns 10. The penalty is half the reward, so once it feels more than about 1 in 3 likely to be a target, tapping is the better bet. Hold back only when you really have no idea.
Where do the baselines come from?
They are initial estimates derived from this game's own rules (2-back, 30 letters, 10 targets). Academic tests use different counts and conditions, so we did not import their numbers. Baselines update as records accumulate.
References
Guides
Other tests
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