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A memory game from a Rudyard Kipling novel [1]

['Mark Frauenfelder']

Date: 2026-09-29  

In the latest issue of Rob Walker's The Art of Noticing newsletter, there's a description of a game called Kim's Game, which was originally described in a Rudyard Kipling novel. Rob came across it in a short story called "Kim's Game," by Sadia Shepard, published in The New Yorker earlier this year.

The idea is to take a number of small objects, place them on a tray or table, and study them by observing, holding, talking about, and so on. Then cover the items with a cloth or walk out of the room and try to remember each item.

Another variation is to show the items, then cover them, and have someone else remove an item. And then, when you lift up the cloth, you have to guess what the missing item is.

Rob says about this game:

It actually sounds like a fun exercise — and also potentially a great assignment, particularly for a writing class. (And for the record it does sound like decent spy training, too.)

How I use AI. Dictated into Whisper Memos. Pangram: rough draft, final draft.

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