Smarter than a chimp?
Chimp Test
The chimp test is a number memory game. Numbers show on a grid and hide after your first tap; tap the squares in order. Each level adds one number.
Look at the whole grid, then tap 1.
A browser game for fun, not a medical, driving or safety test. It does not rate how smart you are. Your results stay on your device unless you submit a score to the Hall of Fame.
Your score is the count of numbers in the highest level you cleared.
What 9 numbers means
You cleared a level that showed 9 numbers. That depends on attention, practice and your screen size, and it says nothing about how smart you are. Compare it with your own earlier runs.
Hall of Fame
Chimp test · numbers in the highest level cleared, higher is better
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Best scores on this site, from browsers. Each run is checked against our rules for a human run; scores still depend on the device. How the Hall of Fame works · See all leaderboards
What your chimp test score means
Your chimp test score is the number of numbers in the highest level you cleared: 4 if you cleared only level 1, 8 if you cleared level 5. If you cleared no level the page says so and the score is 0. This chimp memory test has no timer, so speed does not count.
A strike costs a retry, not points. After a wrong tap the same level comes back with a new layout, and the third strike ends the run. The score is not reduced by strikes you used on the way.
The score varies with attention, practice and screen size. This page does not say what a typical score is, because we have no source for one, and it does not rank you. It is a game for fun, not a measure of how smart you are. Try the reaction time test or the aim test next.
Why your chimp test score drops
- Tired or distracted. Memory games show it first. A run after a break is not comparable with one at the end of a long day.
- Small phone grid. On a narrow screen the squares are close together, and a thumb can land on the neighbor. Hold the phone steady and tap with one finger.
- Double taps. A second tap on a square you just cleared is a tap on an empty square, which is a strike. Tap once and lift.
- Laptop trackpad. Tap-to-click and drag can register a tap on the wrong square. A mouse or a finger on the screen is more predictable.
- Rushing. The game has no timer. Looking at the whole grid once before your first tap costs nothing and avoids most slips. Group the numbers in chunks of two or three.
How the chimp test works
The grid has 6 columns and 6 rows. Level 1 shows 4 numbers at random squares, and each cleared level adds one: level 5 shows 8, and the top level, 27, shows 30. Look at the grid as long as you like. There is no timer on memorizing.
Your first tap must be on number 1. As soon as you tap it, every other number hides, and the squares stay where they are. Then tap the squares in order: 2, 3, 4 and on. Tapping a wrong square is a strike: a hidden number out of order, an empty square, or any number other than 1 as your first tap. Three strikes end the run. Clearing level 27 ends it as complete.
All of these rules, including the 36 squares, the 4 numbers to start and the 3 strikes, are our own choices for this page.
Chimpanzee test: where the chimp test comes from
The game is a version of a task from the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University. In the 2007 study by Inoue and Matsuzawa1, chimpanzees touched the numerals 1 to 9 on a touch screen, in order. After the first touch, the other numerals were replaced by white squares. With five numerals shown for 650, 430 or 210 milliseconds, a young chimpanzee named Ayumu did better than the human subjects, nine university students, in both speed and accuracy.
Two later studies add that practice matters. Silberberg and Kearns (2009)2 reported that when two humans were given practice, their accuracy matched Ayumu's. Cook and Wilson (2010)3 reported that after training, two university students scored 94% and 96%, better than Ayumu. The original comparison had 9 human subjects and each follow-up had 2.
This page is not that study. Its rules (36 squares, 4 numbers at level 1, 3 strikes, no time limit on looking at the grid) are our own, so your result is not comparable with theirs.
- Inoue S, Matsuzawa T (2007). Working memory of numerals in chimpanzees. Current Biology 17(23): R1004 to R1005. doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2007.10.027
- Silberberg A, Kearns D (2009). Memory for the order of briefly presented numerals in humans as a function of practice. Animal Cognition 12: 405 to 407. doi.org/10.1007/s10071-008-0206-8
- Cook P, Wilson M (2010). Do young chimpanzees have extraordinary working memory? Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 17(4): 599 to 600. doi.org/10.3758/PBR.17.4.599
Read how this test measures for the sources of error and the rules behind each round.
Chimp test FAQ
What is the chimp test?
It is a number memory game, sometimes called the chimpanzee test. Numbers appear on a grid, you tap the first one, the rest hide, and you tap the squares where the numbers were, in order. Each level adds one number. The format comes from research on number memory in chimpanzees; the section on where the test comes from names the sources.
How do I play the chimp test?
Press Start and look at the grid for as long as you like. Tap number 1 first; the other numbers then hide. Tap the squares where the numbers were, in order, 2, 3, 4 and on. A wrong tap is a strike, the same level comes back with a new layout, and the third strike ends the run.
What is a good chimp test score?
This page has no sourced norm, so it gives no label, no average and no ranking. Your own trend over several runs is the useful comparison. Scores move with attention, practice and screen size, so a drop on a tired day or a small phone says little.
How do I get better at the chimp test?
Look at the whole grid once before your first tap instead of chasing numbers one by one. Group the numbers into pairs or small clusters and remember each group as a shape. Say the order quietly to yourself. Tap with one finger or one hand each time, and slow down on the last few numbers, where most slips happen.
Can a chimpanzee really beat a person at this?
In a 2007 study by Inoue and Matsuzawa, a young chimpanzee named Ayumu did better than nine university students on a similar task, in both speed and accuracy. Two later studies found that people given practice matched Ayumu (Silberberg and Kearns, 2009) or scored better than Ayumu (Cook and Wilson, 2010). The game on this page uses its own rules and is not that study, so it makes no comparison between you and a chimpanzee.
Method v1.0 · Updated Nov 8, 2026