Are you smarter than a chimpanzee?
Numbers will flash on a grid. Click them in order from lowest to highest. Numbers hide after you click the first one.
The Chimp Test is a free online short-term memory game based on the famous 2007 Kyoto University study by Dr. Tetsuro Matsuzawa. In that study, young chimpanzees — particularly one named Ayumu — consistently outperformed adult humans at remembering the positions of numbers flashed briefly on a screen. This game recreates that exact challenge: can your memory compete with a chimpanzee's?
Numbers appear on a grid in random positions. You must memorize where each number is. When you click on the first number (1), all other numbers instantly hide behind blank squares. You then click the remaining squares in ascending order from memory. Each level adds one more number to the grid. You start with 4 numbers and get 3 lives — each mistake costs one life. The game ends when all lives are lost.
The Chimp Test is a memory challenge based on a real scientific study where young chimpanzees outperformed humans at remembering number positions. Numbers flash on a grid, hide after you click the first one, and you must recall their positions in order.
Most people reach Level 4 to 6, which means remembering 7 to 9 numbers. Reaching Level 8 or higher matches chimpanzee-level performance. Anything above Level 10 is considered exceptional short-term memory.
Most adults cannot match the speed and accuracy of young chimpanzees. In the original study, chimps recalled 9 numbers in about 210 milliseconds. However, with regular practice, some humans can reach comparable performance levels.
If you enjoyed this, try these: Memory Test · Number Memory · Sequence Memory · Attention Test
Last updated: March 2026 · whatifs.fun — Free interactive games, experiments & simulations