I’ve never been good at memory games.
Not because I don’t try — I do. I’ve downloaded a bunch of apps over the years: those “brain training” ones with badges and progress charts and daily reminders that I always ended up ignoring. I wanted them to help me “focus better,” but mostly they just made me feel like I was failing at yet another thing.
Which is kind of the ADHD experience in a nutshell, right?
So when I started building an N-Back game, I didn’t plan for it to go anywhere. It was just a weekend thing. A "what if" project.
What if I made one that didn’t feel like a punishment?
What if it didn’t care whether I missed a day?
What if it was small, quiet, and — dare I say it — fun?
And maybe also: what if I made it for me?
What Even Is N-Back?
If you’re not familiar: N-Back is a kind of working memory training task. Basically, you’re shown a stream of things — letters, positions, sounds — and you have to say whether the current thing matches the one from N steps ago.
It’s been used in neuroscience research, and yes, there’s debate about how much it helps. But as someone with ADHD, here’s what I know: doing it feels like a workout for my attention.
Like, actual sweat-for-the-brain effort.
But also... satisfying?
Okay, But Why Build a Whole Version?
Because most versions I found online were — well — not kind.
They had:
- Harsh timers
- Zero onboarding
- Flashy ads
- Loud failure noises (?? why)
And none of them felt like they were made for someone like me.
Someone who:
- Forgets instructions five seconds after reading them
- Feels nervous clicking “Start” in case they mess up
- Wants to try, but maybe also wants to close the tab and disappear
So I thought: what if it just… didn’t do any of that?
What We Did Differently (or Tried To)
I say “we” because by now, I’ve dragged a few friends into this project. But honestly, it still feels like me, at 1 a.m., tweaking button sizes and wondering if I should use a gentler shade of blue.
Here’s what we changed:
- ✅ Soft start. No countdown anxiety. Just “you ready?”
- ✅ No scores on screen. Just one task at a time.
- ✅ Feedback that doesn’t insult you. “You showed up. That matters.”
- ✅ No account required. No leaderboard. No pressure.
It’s not perfect. There are bugs. Some days I forget to use it myself.
But it exists. And that’s already more than I thought I could do.
Who It’s For
It’s for the people who:
- Open ten tabs to start one task
- Feel dumb because they forgot their friend’s name mid-convo
- Want to train their brain, but not feel like it’s a test
It’s for you, if your brain feels like a browser that never closes.
And it’s for me — because building it was also how I reminded myself I could still finish something.
Closing Thought
You don’t need to be good at it. You don’t need to do it every day.
But if, like me, you’ve been looking for a way to train your focus — not aggressively, not competitively, just gently — you’re welcome to try it.
No pressure. Just presence.
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You can try the N-Back game on MyMindfulKit.com. I hope it helps you find 30 seconds of stillness in a noisy day. That’s all it ever had to be.