Walkback
Watch a path light up across the garden stones, then walk it again, the same way or backwards.
About this game
Walkback is a memory game set in a garden. Stones light up one by one to show a path. Only after the last stone do you learn which way to go: Same way means you tap the path from the start, and Walk it back means you tap it from the end.
Because the direction comes last, you have to hold the whole path in mind, both the places and their order. That is memory for where things are, a different job from remembering a list of numbers. A wrong tap ends the walk and shows you the path you missed.
How to play
- Watch each stone light up and remember the path.
- After the last stone, read the sign: Same way or Walk it back.
- Tap the stones from the first for Same way, or from the last for Walk it back.
- If you slip, a dashed line shows the path you should have taken.
Tips
- Picture the path as a shape through the garden and notice where it starts and ends.
- Wait for the direction before you tap your first stone.
- Take your time between taps: there is no clock while you answer.
How it adapts
A walk you get right makes the next path longer, and a slip makes it shorter. Same way and Walk it back walks are mixed at each level, so you can’t settle into one direction.
Questions
What does Walk it back mean?
Tap the path in reverse. Start with the last stone that lit up and finish with the first.
Is Walkback timed?
The stones light up at a steady pace, but there is no clock while you tap them back. A run has up to twelve walks.
Can my child play Walkback?
Yes. Paths start short and only grow when a walk goes right. Kids can reach paths of ten stones, and teens and adults twelve.
The research behind it
Walkback is built on the Corsi block-tapping task, a classic way for researchers to study memory for places in order: someone taps a path of blocks and you tap it back. Walking it backwards sounds much harder, but in a study of 246 healthy older adults people did no worse backward than forward. So don’t let the Walk it back sign put you off.
