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pymetrics Letters (2-Back) Practice with Hits, False Alarms and d′

Practise the pymetrics Letters game: a 2-back run of 45 letters, with hits, misses, false alarms on lures and your d′ explained in plain words afterwards.

Practice: 45 letters, one every 2.5 seconds (about 2 minutes)Also called “pymetrics letters game”Also called “pymetrics 2-back”

How the practice module works

  1. 01Letters appear one at a time in the middle of the screen.
  2. 02Press Space (or tap Match) when a letter is the same as the one two letters before it.
  3. 03Do nothing for other letters, including a letter that repeats the one just before it or three before it.
  4. 04Each letter shows for 2 seconds with a short gap after it. There is no feedback until the end.

Controls

  • Space when the letter matches the one two back
  • Tap Match on a phone or tablet

Included in 1 Game Platform Prep (when you choose Harver), All Games Platforms Prep and Full Access. See plans

Task
An N-back task with letters, including a 2-back condition: respond when a letter matches the one two back (pymetrics patent, official)
Where it appears
An extra game some employers add to the 12 core games. pymetrics’ research paper confirms an extra numerical and logical suite (official); the name Letters comes from prep sites
Length
45 letters (prep site); the pace is not public
Right answers
Yes: a letter either matches the one two back or it does not (patent task; prep site)
Practice version
Candidate Falcon practice: 45 letters, one every 2.5 seconds, 13 matches, plus lures that repeat the letter one or three back

What the pymetrics Letters (2-back) game looks at

Letters is a 2-back working-memory task. pymetrics’ patent lists an N-back task with letters, including a 2-back condition: you watch a stream of letters and respond whenever the current letter is the same as the one two letters earlier. Prep sites describe it as one of four numerical and logical games some employers add to the 12 core games, with 45 letters.

The task asks you to hold the last two letters in mind and update them with every new letter. The hard part is the near-misses: a letter that repeats the one just before, or the one three back, feels familiar but is not a match. Pressing on those, or missing real matches while you rehearse, is where most points go.

pymetrics does not publish its pace or scoring. Research on N-back tasks usually scores hits and false alarms together, often as d′ (d-prime), which rewards catching matches without pressing for everything. This practice reports hits, misses, false alarms on each kind of lure, d′ in plain words and your median response time on hits.

How the Letters (2-back) practice works

  1. Letters appear one at a time, each for 2 seconds with a half-second gap after it.
  2. Press Space, or tap Match, when the letter is the same as the one two letters before it.
  3. Do nothing for any other letter, including one that repeats the letter just before it or three before it.
  4. There is no feedback during the run. At the end you see your hits, misses, false alarms, d′ and the whole run letter by letter.

Letters (2-back) tips

  • Keep a running pair in your head and say it silently: after K, R you hold "K R"; when T arrives, compare it with K, then the pair becomes "R T".
  • Compare each new letter with the first letter of your pair only: that is the one two back.
  • Ignore the feeling of "I just saw that": a letter repeating the one just before is not a match.
  • If you lose track, drop the pair and rebuild it from the next two letters instead of guessing.
  • Press as soon as you are sure; you have the whole 2.5 seconds, so there is no need to rush a doubtful press.

Common Letters (2-back) mistakes

  • Pressing for a letter that repeats the one just before (a 1-back lure).
  • Pressing for a letter seen three back, because it feels familiar.
  • Losing the pair after a press and missing the next match.
  • Pressing for many letters to be safe: false alarms lower d′ as much as misses do.

A short Letters (2-back) practice routine

  1. Do one run and look at where your false alarms came from: 1-back lures, 3-back lures or other letters.
  2. If you missed many matches, practise the silent "pair" rehearsal for a whole run.
  3. If you pressed on lures, slow down your decision slightly and compare only with the letter two back.
  4. Aim for a d′ above 2 before the real assessment, then stop: more runs give smaller gains.

Letters (2-back) FAQ

What is the pymetrics Letters game?

It is a 2-back memory task. pymetrics’ patent lists an N-back task with letters, including a 2-back condition. Prep sites describe it as one of the extra games some employers add, with 45 letters: you respond when a letter matches the one two back.

What is a 2-back task?

A stream of letters appears one at a time. You respond whenever the current letter is the same as the letter shown two steps earlier. For K, R, K the second K is a match; for K, K it is not.

What does d′ (d-prime) mean in my results?

d′ measures how well you told matches from other letters, counting both caught matches and false alarms. Around 0 means guessing, around 1 is a fair start, 2 is good and 3 or more is very sharp. It is Candidate Falcon’s practice measure, not a pymetrics score.

Is this the real pymetrics game?

No. It is independent practice by Candidate Falcon with its own letter sequences and timing. It is not affiliated with pymetrics or Harver, and the practice results are not pymetrics scores.

Independent practice by Candidate Falcon, based on pymetrics’ public patents and research and on prep-site descriptions. Not affiliated with pymetrics or Harver, and not their scoring. The game, its art and its wording are original, and practice results are not pymetrics scores. For all 12 games, timing, results and retakes, read the free pymetrics test guide.