[HN Gopher] N-Back - A Minimal, Adaptive Dual N-Back Game for Br...
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N-Back - A Minimal, Adaptive Dual N-Back Game for Brain Training
Author : gregzeng95
Score : 76 points
Date : 2025-07-03 06:07 UTC (2 days ago)
(HTM) web link (n-back.net)
(TXT) w3m dump (n-back.net)
| gregzeng95 wrote:
| Hi HN,
|
| I built N-Back.net, a lightweight and responsive Dual N-Back task
| for working memory training.
|
| I was frustrated by the clunky UI and heavy design of most
| existing n-back tools, so I made something clean, fast, and
| distraction-free. No login, no ads, no tracking - just cognitive
| training in your browser.
|
| Key features: * Dual mode: visual + auditory * Adaptive
| difficulty: level up as you improve, drop down if needed * Dark
| mode and keyboard-only mode * Clearly differentiated letter
| sounds, carefully selected to avoid confusion * Performance
| tracker (WIP: I'm working on streaks and detailed history) *
| Mobile-friendly (works well on phones & tablets)
|
| I'm planning to add: * Custom training modes (single-modality,
| color, etc.) * User-defined N range * Optional accounts for
| progress saving (but always optional)
|
| Would love your feedback on: * UX flow and performance *
| Cognitive challenge balance * What would make you come back and
| use it regularly?
|
| Site: https://n-back.net
|
| Thanks for checking it out!
| fouc wrote:
| "do nothing" is too slow, need another key to hit to skip.
|
| I would expect a final reaction time of under 100-200ms
| ideally?
| cellularmitosis wrote:
| Yes, I would also remove the automatic progression entirely.
| This should be driven by user input only.
| louky wrote:
| the buttons jumping up and down when correct or incorrect is
| jarring on my smaller screen, forcing a constant space there or
| moving the message would be a smoother UX, in my opinion.
| euph0ria wrote:
| Agreed, came here to say the same
| BiraIgnacio wrote:
| This is pretty great, thank you!
|
| I didn't know about these types of tasks (N-Back) and this was
| a nice introduction to it.
| indolering wrote:
| Ahh, "brain training" - games you play instead of getting better
| at value added tasks. This shit doesn't generalize and the
| opportunity cost results in making you dumber, not smarter.
| kqr wrote:
| From https://gwern.net/dnb-faq:
|
| > Performance on dual n-back has complicated correlations with
| performance on other tests of working memory or IQ, so it's not
| clear what it is tapping into. (And the link between WM and
| performance on IQ tests has been disputed; high WM as measured
| by OSPAN does not correlate well with performance on hard
| Raven's questions and the validity of single tests of WM
| training has been questioned .)
|
| > Unfortunately, in general, IQ/g and memory don't seem to be
| trainable. Many apparent effects are swamped by exercise or
| nutrition or by simple practice. And when practice does result
| in gains on tasks or expensive games, said benefits often do
| not transfer .
|
| > Have I seen any benefits yet? Not really. Thus far it's like
| meditation: I haven't seen any specific improvements, but it's
| been interesting just to explore concentration - I've learned
| that my ability to focus is much less than I thought it was!
|
| It does however seem like maybe dual n-back trains
| concentration and focus and willpower?
|
| > WM training helps alcoholics reduce their consumption and
| increases patience in recovering stimulant addicts (cocaine &
| methamphetamine). WM training has been shown to help children
| with ADHD and also preschoolers without ADHD; Lucas found
| behavior improvements at a summer camp.
| gwd wrote:
| But to GP's point:
|
| > To those whose time is limited: you may wish to stop
| reading here. If you seek to improve your life, and want the
| greatest 'bang for the buck', you are well-advised to look
| elsewhere.
|
| > Meditation, for example, is easier, faster, and ultra-
| portable. Typing training will directly improve your facility
| with a computer, a valuable skill for this modern world.
| Spaced repetition memorization techniques offer unparalleled
| advantages to students. [Lots more.] And all of these can
| start paying off immediately.
|
| > DNB, on the other hand, requires a minimum of 15 hours
| before one can expect genuine somatic improvements. The task
| itself is unproven - the Jaeggi studies are suggestive, not
| definitive.
| agumonkey wrote:
| For people with brain damage it might be very very useful. At
| least dual-n-back.io gave me a way to train spatial and
| temporal memory when I had no options.
| visiondude wrote:
| It's hard to tell when a turn starts if the tile stays on the
| same square. Could you possibly add a quick fade animation to the
| tile?
| alfanick wrote:
| " Works on All Devices" statement doesn't seem to be true - I
| cannot press "space key" on my iPad (Safari).
| kqr wrote:
| My personal experience with n-back mainly revolves around
| discovering the large variation in my ability to focus.
| Practisibg does get me better at the n-back task (not anything
| else as far as I can tell) but daily form determines results to a
| large degree. This effect seems to transfer somewhat: on weeks
| I'm overall worse at focusing on n-back I appear to also produce
| fewer commits.
|
| But what determines this daily form I don't know. I suspect
| sleep, stress, and exercise has something to do with it.
| doubledamio wrote:
| This is very nice! But I don't quite get how 70% is considered
| good performance -- I managed to outperform that by literally
| doing nothing:
|
| Game Complete!
|
| Accuracy: 78.6% Correct Responses: 11 / 14 Average Reaction Time:
| 0 ms
| torbid wrote:
| Yes, though 70% is a normal cut-off, I think most versions more
| heavily bias the placement towards 1/2 in the past square
| instead of the 1/9th of real chance. Without the bias it is
| simpler to always guess no.
| NooneAtAll3 wrote:
| "Working Memory Test" link returns 404
| gregzeng95 wrote:
| Sry, i am fixing it. I vibe-coded this website so there might
| be some bugs :<
| RBerenguel wrote:
| I also wrote a minimal version for me,
| https://mostlymaths.net/nb/
|
| Only works well on mobile portrait though, I designed it
| especifically for my phone. Don't use it much though.
| creature_x wrote:
| I've been using the n-back protocol for over a year and it's
| definitely improved my cognitive abilities. I don't know if my IQ
| has increased, but on days where I use this protocol(20-25
| minutes) I see a marked improvement in the clarity and vibrancy
| of my thoughts- put another way this protocol's biggest benefit
| is it's effectiveness in clearing the mental fog in my head. I've
| tried experimenting with other protocols(solving crossword/chess
| puzzles, meditation,etc..)but they were not nearly as effective
| as n-back.
|
| I've actually built my own variation of n-back(triple n-back),
| where you're tested on the colour of the stimulus in addition to
| the sound and position-so it's much more cognitively demanding.
| If you're interested, you can check it out here: https://mind-
| workout.pages.dev
| SubiculumCode wrote:
| Generalization beyond n-back tasks had not been established, at
| least at the last time I looked into the field, maybe 8 years
| ago. There was always the hope that tasks that focused on
| specific core cognitive processes would lead to broad cognitive
| improvements, but I am not too confident about it.
|
| One problem in this field has been weak control conditions..e.g.
| no train conditions. I often thought that a cardio control
| conditions would be useful. I'd almost guarantee that for most
| people, 60 minutes a week jogging would lead to better cognitive
| improvements than 60 minutes of n-back.
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