How to play recall (and how to remember a shape)
recall is a free visual memory game you play in the browser. A shape flashes on a black grid for a few seconds, then dissolves. It comes back somewhere else, at a different size and angle, and your job is to put it back exactly where it was.
No download, no account, no app. It runs on a phone and keeps working with the network switched off.
The goal, in one sentence
Put every shape back where it was, at the right size and angle, before the look time gets too short to remember.
How a round works
- Remember. The shape appears with a white bar running down at the top of the board. Note where its centre sits, how big it is and which way it points.
- It vanishes. When the bar runs out the shape dissolves.
- Place it. The same shape reappears somewhere else, smaller or bigger, and on medium and hard turned to a new angle. A pink bar counts down your place time and turns red in its last 30 percent.
- Lock it in. Press the round white button. If the bar runs out first, your shape locks wherever it is.
- The reveal. A dashed white outline shows where the shape really was, a dotted line joins your centre to the real one, and your score counts up.
Moving, resizing and turning
- On a phone or tablet, drag the shape to move it. Drag the white dot on its dotted leash to resize and turn it: how far the dot is from the centre sets the size, and its direction sets the angle. You can also pinch with two fingers to resize, twist them to rotate and slide them together to move.
- With a mouse, drag the shape or the white dot the same way. The wheel resizes, and Shift with the wheel rotates.
- On a keyboard, the arrow keys move the shape (hold Shift for fine steps), + and - resize it, Q and E rotate it, Tab switches between two shapes and Enter or Space locks it in.
A shape can be anywhere from tiny to a little bigger than the largest original, and its centre always stays on the board.
How scoring works
Each shape gets three separate marks:
- Position is full marks on the exact spot and falls to zero 30 percent of the board away. Distance is measured against the shorter side of the board, so a phone and a desktop score the same placement the same way.
- Size compares your size with the original on a log scale, so half size and double size cost the same. It falls to zero a little before either.
- Angle falls to zero at 45 degrees off.
With rotation, position is worth 50 percent of the score, size 30 and angle 20. Position is also curved, so a near miss costs less than a far one. On easy there is no angle: position is 60 percent and size 40. A score only reads 100 when it is exact; 99.6 shows as 99.
With two shapes, the round scores the average of both.
Symmetry
Angle error is measured to the closest turn that looks the same. A square looks the same every 90 degrees, a triangle every 120, a pentagon and a star every 72, a hexagon every 60, and a bar or a diamond every 180. The ell, arrow, kite and bolt only match one way round, so their angle is the hardest to remember.
Pass marks and lives
Every round has a pass mark: 60 percent on easy, 70 on medium and 75 on hard.
- 95 or more is PERFECT.
- 85 or more is SHARP.
- Any other pass is GOOD.
- Below the mark is a MISS, and the reveal tells you what you needed.
You start with two lives and lose one for every miss. Lose both and the game is over. Your score is the total of every round you played.
Easy, medium and hard
| easy | medium | hard | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rotation | no | yes | yes |
| Look time in round 1 | 3.5 s | 3.0 s | 2.5 s |
| Shortest look time | 2.0 s | 1.4 s | 1.0 s |
| Place time | 12 s | 10 s | 9 s |
| Pass mark | 60% | 70% | 75% |
| Two shapes from | never | round 6 | round 4 |
The look time shrinks by 0.12 seconds every round until it reaches the floor. Easy uses the regular shapes; medium adds a bar and a kite; hard swaps the hexagon and diamond for the lopsided ell, arrow and bolt. On medium and hard the first two rounds stick to the five simplest shapes in the set.
Two-shape rounds
From round 6 on medium and round 4 on hard you see two shapes at once and place both. They never overlap, you get 35 percent longer to look and 40 percent longer to place, and the round scores their average. Touch a shape or press Tab to choose which one you are moving.
The daily set
The daily set is five rounds with the same shapes for everyone on that UTC day and difficulty. There are no lives, so every round counts, and it is scored out of 500. Your first attempt each day goes on the daily leaderboard; play it again and it is marked as practice.
Tips for remembering shapes
- Use the grid. The brighter centre lines split the board into quarters. Note the quarter, then how many squares the centre is from the nearest line.
- Size it in squares. Judge the width against the grid squares, not against the board.
- Pick one corner. Remember where a single corner points, like a clock hand, rather than the whole outline.
- Place the position first. It is worth the most, and size and angle are easier to judge once the centre is right.
- Use your place time. Ten seconds is long. Small keyboard or wheel nudges at the end are often worth a few points.
Frequently asked
How does a round of recall work? A shape flashes on the grid, dissolves, then comes back somewhere else at a different size and angle. Move, resize and turn it back to where it was and lock it in before the place timer runs out.
How do I move, resize and rotate the shape? Drag the shape to move it and drag the white dot to resize and turn it. Pinch and twist with two fingers on a phone. With a mouse the wheel resizes and Shift with the wheel rotates. On a keyboard the arrows move, plus and minus resize, Q and E rotate and Enter locks in.
How are position, size and angle scored? Position falls to zero 30 percent of the board away, size compares your size with the original on a log scale, and angle falls to zero at 45 degrees off. With rotation they weigh 50, 30 and 20 percent; on easy, position and size weigh 60 and 40.
Does a symmetric shape count when it is turned? Yes. A square is right every 90 degrees, a triangle every 120, a hexagon every 60 and a bar or diamond every 180. Lopsided shapes only match one way round.
What are the pass marks and lives? You need 60 percent on easy, 70 on medium and 75 on hard. You start with two lives and lose one for each round under the mark.
What is the difference between easy, medium and hard? Easy never rotates and gives 3.5 seconds to look. Medium adds rotation with 3 seconds. Hard uses lopsided shapes with 2.5 seconds and puts two shapes on the board from round 4.
When do two shapes appear? From round 6 on medium and round 4 on hard. You get longer to look and place, and the round scores the average of both.
Is the daily set the same for everyone? Yes. It comes from the UTC date and the difficulty, runs five rounds without lives and is scored out of 500. Your first attempt each day is scored and later ones are practice.
How can I remember shapes better? Use the grid lines to fix the centre, size the shape in grid squares and remember where one corner points.
Where recall sits
recall is the memory test of the portfolio. If you like holding a picture in your head under a clock, try the other games: graze pays you for near misses, updraft is a one-button cave flight, wreck is an endless run-and-gun, outbound clears a board of arrows, cornered is a turn-based escape, ricochet is a bank-shot puzzle, blast is a block puzzle, pour is a colour sort, claim.io is a multiplayer land grab, tint mixes colours, filter is a face deduction game, bridge is a hex connection game, closure is a line-drawing duel against a bot, overload is a grid duel against a bot, and deadband is a test of steady hands.