Brain training: corsi block tapping - watch a sequence of cells light up, then repeat it. Forward or backward.
Spatial span is the visuospatial counterpart of digit span, developed by Corsi.
You see a sequence of cells light up in order. You must tap them in the same or reverse sequence.
Typical span for adults is 5-6 forward. Backward span is 1 shorter.
This task loads the visuospatial sketchpad - the part of working memory specialised for location.
Corsi block tapping is widely used in neuropsychology and correlates with navigation skill and spatial reasoning.
Performance is relatively independent of verbal intelligence, making it a pure visuospatial measure.
It tracks how many spatial positions you can hold in the right serial order.
This task isolates the capacity of spatial short-term memory: encoding a set of locations together with the order in which they were visited. Your span is the longest sequence you can reproduce, so a result reflects how many position-plus-order bindings survive long enough to be replayed, not how well you recognise a single location.
Unlike digit span, which relies on a verbal rehearsal loop, the order here is carried by spatial and movement-based codes that resist being spoken aloud. Real-world correlates include retracing a route, remembering where pieces sit on a board, or reassembling a path of objects in the sequence you handled them.
Build the sequence into a remembered path rather than a list of separate dots.
Start one below your reliable span and only level up when you clear a length cleanly two or three times in a row. Focus on watching the whole grid rather than fixating on each cell as it lights, and trace the connecting movement between consecutive cells so the order becomes a single travelling path instead of unlinked points.
The common mistake is silently naming positions ("top-left, middle") and leaning on verbal memory; this collapses under longer or crossing sequences and is exactly what spatial span should bypass. Resist chasing length too fast, and do not look away mid-sequence, since the cells often share no landmark to anchor a glance back.
Read your span as a personal trend, not a fixed verdict.
Your score is the longest sequence length you can reliably reproduce, and healthy adult spatial span typically sits around five, with strong performers reaching six or seven. Because difficulty climbs steeply with each added cell, gaining a single point is meaningful. Watch your own moving average across sessions rather than reacting to any one run.
Spatial span is highly state-dependent: fatigue, divided attention, screen size and a distracting environment can each cost a point on a given day. A score does not measure spatial reasoning, navigation skill or intelligence, and a strong span on this grid will not automatically transfer to unrelated visual or verbal memory tasks.