Memory Championship Practice for All 10 Events
Timed practice for the 10 events of the World Memory Championship: numbers, cards, names and faces, images, words and dates. Each runs in its official World format, with a 35-level ladder that starts with a handful of items.
Choose an event for timed practice
Every event starts small, with a level 1 you can finish today. Work up the 35 levels, from Beginner to Elite, to the full World format.
Numbers
Number memorization: digits on a sheet, read aloud, or in binary.
Cards
Card memorization: one deck against the clock, or as many as an hour allows.
Faces & images
Image memorization: names on faces, abstract shapes in order.
Words & dates
Word and date memorization: word lists, and years to events.
Not sure where to start? Compare the events.
Suggested training order
Training pays off faster in the right order: easy wins first, then the events that need a system, then the marathons.
- Before you start
Learn a route and a system
Read how memory championships work. Every event runs on a memory palace. Numbers and cards add the Major System or PAO, which the free memory tools help you build. A two-minute memory test gives you a baseline.
- Stage 1
Start with images
These need a route and vivid images but no number system, so they are the gentlest place to build your first palace.
- Stage 2
Add your number and card system
The five-to-thirty-minute events, each built on the system you chose. A weekly training schedule helps you rotate them.
- Stage 3
Build to the long events
Endurance and pace, after a few months of the basics. Then run a mock championship and read how to prepare for your first competition.
Where to go next
Memory championship training questions
How should I use this training?
Learn a memory palace and a number system first, then train one event at a time against the clock. Each event starts small on its level ladder and works up to the full World format. Once you can do every event, run a mock championship to see your total. How memory championships work covers the rules.
Are these the official championship formats?
Yes. Every event runs in its World format by default, with standard sheets sized from the current world record plus 20%, as the championship rules require. Several also offer the National and International timings as Custom formats, and every event has a Custom option for your own size and time.
What are the training levels?
Every event has a ladder of 35 levels. Each level is the real event, at its championship timing, with fewer items on the sheet: level 1 of Speed Numbers is 10 digits, and level 1 of Random Words is 8 words. Recall 90% of a level to open the next. The first steps are small and they grow as you climb, through four tiers (Beginner 1-10, Intermediate 11-20, Advanced 21-30, Elite 31-35), and level 35 is 386 digits of Speed Numbers, 60% of the world record. Past that is the full championship sheet, set above the world record.
How should I prepare for my first memory competition?
In the last four to six weeks, practise only the exact formats your competition uses, at its timings. About two weeks before, run a mock championship in the same event order, with the same breaks. The competition calendar lists upcoming events to aim for.
How is my training scored?
Each event uses its own marking rules, such as row scoring for numbers and column scoring for words. Signed in, every run is saved to your history, and your best in the standard format is your personal best. The mock championship turns each event into championship points against the Millennium Standard, out of 10,000.
Can I race other people in these events?
Not live, for now. The daily challenge gives everyone the same material once a day, and every ranked run counts on the leaderboard.