How many memory palaces and loci you need for each event, how to calculate it, and how to rotate palaces so old images do not get in the way.
Once you start training seriously, a practical question comes up quickly: how many memory palaces do you need, and how many locations should each one have? One palace is plenty for a shopping list. It is not enough for daily drills across several events, where old images start to linger and new ones get confused with them. This guide shows you how to work out the number of loci each event needs, how many palaces to build, and how to rotate them so they stay clean.
If you are new to the technique itself, start with the method of loci guide and come back to this when you have built your first route.
The number of locations, or loci, an attempt needs depends on three things: how much you want to memorize, how much each image holds, and how many images you put in each location.
Loci needed = items ÷ (items per image × images per locus)
Round up, since a part-filled locus is still a locus. For example, with a two-digit number system and two images per location, each locus holds four digits, so 200 digits needs 50 loci.
The two choices you control are the items per image, which is fixed by your system, and the images per locus, which is a matter of style. One image per locus is the easiest to keep apart. Two or three per locus means shorter routes and less travelling, at the cost of more care about order within each location.
These worked examples show the range. Replace the targets with your own.
That last option is why so many card competitors use PAO: a deck fits on a short route that can be walked quickly. See the PAO system for how it works.
Always build a little beyond your target. If you run out of route halfway through a good attempt, the attempt ends there.
Words are harder to pack than numbers because each image is invented on the spot, so many people keep to one or two words per location.
Ten decks is 520 cards. With three cards per locus that is 174 loci for a single attempt. The hour events are where palace planning really matters, because the route has to be ready before the clock starts. Our guide to training for the hour events covers pacing for these.
Names and Faces is usually memorized by linking each name to a feature of the face, so the face is the location. Historic Dates is often done by linking an image of the event to an image of the year. Some competitors do use routes for these, but you can start without one.
If you memorize a deck on a route this morning and another deck on the same route this afternoon, you will often find this morning's images still sitting there. Competitors call this ghosting. A ghost image can be confused with the new one, especially during recall, and it produces exactly the kind of placement mistake that costs a row or a deck.
Ghosts fade with time, which is why the usual answer is to rotate: use a route, let it rest, and use a different one in the meantime. How long a route needs to rest varies from person to person. Many people find a day enough for a short drill. Big attempts may need longer. Your own results are the best guide: if placement errors rise when you reuse a route quickly, give it more rest.
There is no universal number, but a sensible way to plan is:
For example, if you do one Speed Cards attempt a day and a route needs two days of rest, three card routes will keep you going. If you practise two events on the same day, give each event its own set of routes so they never compete.
A beginner can start with two or three routes of 20 to 30 locations each. That is enough for word lists, small number drills and practice decks. Add routes as your targets grow, rather than building a huge collection before you need it.
The MemoChamp palace builder lets you name each palace and lay out its locations in order, which makes it easier to keep track of several routes.
A route you have not used for months becomes hesitant. A quick mental walk, without images, keeps it smooth. It also shows you locations that have faded or merged.
If errors keep appearing at the same location, replace it or move it. When reviewing a drill, a mistake at the same point of a route over several attempts is a strong sign. See how to read your memory drill results.
Some competitors mentally walk a used route and imagine each location empty to speed up the fading. Whether it helps is personal, but it costs a minute to try.
Write down each route, its number of locations and which event it belongs to. When you have a dozen routes, a list saves a lot of confusion.
You can, but ghosting becomes a problem as soon as you train daily. Several shorter routes are easier to rotate.
Twenty to thirty per route is a comfortable start. It holds a word list or a small number drill and is quick to learn.
Only if your accuracy stays high. Try it on one route and compare placement errors with your usual approach.
Many competitors keep their best, freshest routes for competition days and rest them in the days before. It is a simple way to avoid ghosting when it matters most.
Work out your targets, calculate the loci you need, build a few extra, and set up a rotation. It takes an evening, and it removes a source of errors that would otherwise quietly cap your scores. Then try your routes in training, and read the weekly training schedule to fit the rotation into your week.
