pymetrics Digits Game: Digit Span, Timing and How It Works
Luca from Candidate Falcon
Editorial Team
The pymetrics Digits game shows you a list of digits, one at a time, and asks you to type them back in the same order. Each correct answer makes the next list longer. It is one of the 12 core pymetrics games, which Harver now runs as its gamified assessments after buying pymetrics in August 2022. Prep sites usually report it as the fifth game.
Facts below are labelled official (pymetrics or Harver material, including pymetrics' patent), prep sites (commercial descriptions) or not public.
The Digits game at a glance
| What is known | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Task | Digits are shown, then typed from memory; each success lengthens the next list | Official (pymetrics patent) |
| Direction | Forward only; no source reports a backwards round | Official (patent) and prep sites |
| First list | 4 digits | Prep sites, low confidence |
| Steps | One digit more after a correct answer, one fewer after a wrong one | Prep sites |
| End | Three wrong answers; whether they must be in a row is unclear | Prep sites |
| Display | One digit at a time, about 0.75 to 1 second each | One prep site, unverified |
What you see and do
- Instructions. Read them in full; your version may differ from prep-site reports.
- Digits flash (prep sites). One at a time, in the middle of the screen.
- You type the list (official). From memory, in the order shown, then you submit.
- The next list adjusts (official and prep sites). It gets longer after a success (patent) and shorter after a mistake (prep sites).
- The game ends (prep sites). After three wrong answers. Whether you are told each answer was right, and whether typing is timed, is not public.
The psychology behind it: digit span
Digit span is one of the oldest tests in psychology. Joseph Jacobs (1887) tested how many digits or letters schoolchildren could repeat after a single presentation, and called the longest list their span. George Miller (1956) later argued that immediate memory holds about seven items, plus or minus two, and that grouping items into larger "chunks" lets us hold more. Digit span tasks are still standard in intelligence and neuropsychological test batteries.
Some versions also ask for the list backwards, which adds mental manipulation on top of holding the digits. The pymetrics version, as described in its patent and by prep sites, is forward only.
What it is thought to measure
Your span is the longest list you repeat correctly (official: patent). Prep sites describe the game as a test of short-term or working memory and attention. Attention and focus are among the nine trait categories Harver lists. pymetrics does not publish which measures it takes or how it weighs them.
Overall, pymetrics compares your play across all the games with people who do well in the role and gives the employer a fit score, not a pass mark (official). See pymetrics results and the trait report.
Is there a right answer?
Yes, for each list: there is exactly one correct sequence. That makes Digits one of the games with measurable accuracy. pymetrics still says there is "no right or wrong answer" across its games, because your whole profile is matched to roles rather than marked. There is no official benchmark span; one prep site reports a typical span of 7 to 9 digits. More in pymetrics games answers.
Timing and length
- The whole set (official): about 25 minutes for the 12 games, 1 to 3 minutes each, with no pausing mid-game.
- Digits (prep sites): the length depends on how far you get. At about 1 second per digit, a 9-digit list takes around 9 seconds just to show (our arithmetic).
How to approach it
pymetrics' advice is to be yourself. In Digits, that means your natural memory with your full attention.
- Group as the digits come. Many people do this without thinking: 7-2-9-4-1-8 held as "729, 418" is two chunks instead of six digits, as Miller described.
- Keep your eyes on the centre. Each digit is gone in about a second.
- Type straight away. The list is freshest the moment the last digit disappears.
- Use a keyboard if you can. Prep sites advise a computer, and the number keys are quicker than a small touch keypad.
- Stay calm after a miss. Prep sites report three wrong answers before the game ends, and a mistake only shortens the next list by one digit.
Common mistakes
- Swapping two neighbouring digits when typing quickly.
- Losing the start of a long list while concentrating on the end.
- Looking down at the keyboard while digits are still flashing.
- Writing the digits down: it is a memory game, and notes would not show how you remember.
A worked example
Five lists we made up, following the rules prep sites report.
| List | Shown | Typed | Result | Next list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 8 1 6 | 5 8 1 6 | Correct | 5 digits |
| 2 | 3 9 4 7 2 | 3 9 4 7 2 | Correct | 6 digits |
| 3 | 7 2 9 4 1 8 | 7 2 9 1 4 8 | Wrong (1 of 3) | 5 digits |
| 4 | 6 0 3 8 5 | 6 0 3 8 5 | Correct | 6 digits |
| 5 | 4 1 7 3 9 2 | 4 1 7 3 9 2 | Correct | 7 digits |
List 3 shows a typical slip: two neighbouring digits swapped. The mistake cost one digit, not the game, and list 5 brought the span to six. Held as "417, 392", that list is two chunks.
How Candidate Falcon's Digits practice works
Candidate Falcon's independent pymetrics Digits practice game follows the reported rules with original screens. It is not the real game.
- 0.9 seconds per digit, inside the range one prep site reports, with a short gap between digits.
- Starts at 4 digits, one more after a correct answer and one fewer after a wrong one, never below 3.
- Ends after 3 wrong answers in total or after 20 lists. The real rule may count them in a row; that is not public.
- Lists avoid giveaways, such as the same digit twice in a row or runs like 4-5-6.
- Number keys, Backspace and Enter, or an on-screen keypad on a phone.
- A brief "Correct" or "Not quite" after each list, then your longest span and every list, with wrong digits highlighted.
Practice results are not pymetrics or Harver scores. The pymetrics games come with every plan that includes Harver; see pricing. The free pymetrics guide covers the whole battery.
FAQs
What is the pymetrics Digits game?
It is a forward digit span test. pymetrics' patent describes digits shown and then typed from memory, with each success making the next list longer.
Do you type the digits backwards in pymetrics Digits?
No source reports a backwards round. The patent and prep sites describe forward recall only.
How does the pymetrics Digits game end?
Prep sites report that three wrong answers end it. Whether they must be in a row is not public.
What is a good span in the pymetrics Digits game?
pymetrics does not publish one and uses no pass mark. One prep site reports a typical span of 7 to 9 digits, close to Miller's classic seven, plus or minus two.
Sources
- pymetrics patent WO2015200880A1: the digit span task, forward recall.
- Wilson et al. (2021), Building and Auditing Fair Algorithms, with pymetrics co-authors: devices, the fit model.
- pymetrics candidate FAQ, employer-hosted copy (2018): timing, no pausing, no right or wrong answer.
- Harver: gamified assessments and Harver acquires pymetrics (read October 2026).
- Prep-site descriptions (MBB Prep, JobTestPrep and others): start length, steps, end rule, display speed, typical span.
- Jacobs, J. (1887). Experiments on "prehension". Mind, 12(45), 75–79.
- Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63(2), 81–97.
Candidate Falcon is independent and not affiliated with pymetrics, Harver or any employer.
