What visual memory span means here
In Testpartout, visual memory span means the largest number of highlighted tiles you successfully recall in this specific grid task. It is a task score, not a diagnosis and not a general measure of intelligence or memory health.
The Visual Memory Test uses a fixed six-by-six grid. Each round briefly shows a set of target tiles, then asks you to select those same positions from memory.
The fixed 6×6 grid
The board contains 36 cells and does not change size between levels. Keeping the grid fixed means the task gets harder by increasing the number of targets, not by moving between different board layouts.
Level 1 starts with three target tiles. After a successful level, the next level adds one more target. The largest possible span is 36, because that is the entire board.
Presentation and recall
At the start of a round, Testpartout generates a target pattern and shows it for a nominal 1500 ms. When that presentation ends, the grid enters the recall phase and the target marks are hidden. You then select the cells you remember.
Why the presentation is described as nominal
Browser timers and display refresh are not laboratory instruments. The page requests a 1500 ms presentation, but painting, tab scheduling, display refresh and system load may influence exactly when pixels appear or disappear. If the document becomes hidden during a live round, the session is cancelled rather than silently resumed.
How a round is scored
During recall, selecting a target tile marks it as correct. Selecting a non-target tile ends that round immediately as a failure. Presses during the presentation phase do not count, so the measured part of the round is the recall decision after the pattern has been hidden.
If you recall every target in the pattern, the level is complete. Testpartout records that target count as your current visual span if it is the largest successful round so far.
Lives and new patterns
A session gives you three lives. A wrong tile uses one life. If lives remain, you retry the same level with a new random pattern rather than seeing the same layout again. That prevents a failed pattern from turning into a memorised answer on the next attempt.
After three failed rounds, the session ends. Your result is based on successful rounds only; a failed level does not become your visual span merely because you attempted it.
What the result can and cannot say
The result can tell you how far you got in this particular browser task under the conditions of that session. It can be useful for comparing your own runs on the same device, especially if you keep the screen size, browser and level of distraction similar.
It cannot diagnose a clinical condition, measure memory IQ, or assign a universal good or bad range. Testpartout does not publish population averages or percentiles for this test because it has no real aggregated data to support them.
Relation to sequence memory
Visual memory and sequence memory are related but not identical tasks. Visual Memory asks you to remember positions in a grid without an order requirement. The Sequence Memory Test asks you to repeat a growing ordered pattern, so order becomes part of the challenge.
The shared platform rules for timing, browser limitations and local personal bests are on the methodology page.