A color memory game in the Simon style
Hymn Keeper is a free online color memory game in the style of Simon. Four colored pads light up and play a note, in an order you have to repeat. Every round adds one more note to the song, and the first wrong pad ends the game.
There is no timer and no second chance. You can take as long as you like to answer, but one slip and the hymn falls silent. It works with a keyboard, a mouse or a touch screen, and every pad has its own pitch, so you can remember the song by ear as well as by position.
How to play Hymn Keeper
- Watch. The game plays the sequence by flashing pads and playing their notes. The status line says WATCH.
- Wait for YOUR TURN. Presses before that are ignored. They make a sound but never count against you.
- Repeat the sequence in the same order by tapping the pads or pressing 1, 2, 3 and 4.
- Get it right and the round is won. One new note is added at the end, and the whole song plays again from the start.
- Press a wrong pad and the game is over, with your score and the round you reached.
Controls
- Keyboard: 1 HALO (top left, gold), 2 WING (top right, blue), 3 HORN (bottom left, red), 4 TAIL (bottom right, purple). The number is printed on every pad.
- Mouse or touch: click or tap a pad.
- After game over, Enter or Space (or a tap) starts a new song, and Esc goes back to the game list. There is no pause, because there is no clock.
Scoring and rules
You score only when you finish a full round. The points are the length of the sequence times ten: the three-note round gives 30, the four-note round gives 40, and so on. Finishing rounds 3, 4 and 5 gives a running total of 120. Your best score is saved in your browser.
Every game starts with a three-note sequence made from the first three pads. The fourth pad, TAIL, can only turn up once new notes are added. The notes are random, so the song is different every time, and as it grows the playback gets a little faster, down to 0.3 seconds between notes.
Tips to score higher
- Say the sequence to yourself as pad numbers, 1 to 4, while it plays. The numbers are on the pads.
- Use your ears. Each pad has a fixed pitch, so you can hum the song instead of picturing it.
- Chunk it. The old part of the sequence never changes inside a game, so learn it in groups of three and only add the new note.
- Do not rush. Nothing times you out while you answer, so wait for YOUR TURN and take your time.
Questions
- Is there a time limit in Hymn Keeper?
- No. There is no clock on the screen and no limit on how long you take to answer.
- Is Hymn Keeper the same as Simon?
- It is a Simon-style game. Repeating a growing pattern is an old idea, but the pads, the notes and the look here are our own.
- Does Hymn Keeper have sound on a phone?
- Yes, as long as the sound is on. The Sound button at the top right switches it on and off, and nothing is downloaded.