The Wizard memory game

‘Wizard’ (Peak) offers gamified, tablet-based training for visuospatial working memory.34 In this game, geometrical figures are hidden under cards (Fig. 2). In each round, the cards are first turned over one at a time in a randomized order to reveal the hidden figure. Next, one figure at a time is presented, and the player has to indicate the hiding place through touchscreen selection. The task is woven into the narrative of a wizard who requires strength, weapons and trophies to fight monsters. The player collects these tokens through successful trials but loses fights when making too many mistakes. The task adjusts to the skill level of the player and becomes progressively more difficult as performance improves. The Wizard game could be played on tablet computers in a designated room with technical support provided. At the end of each training session, patients rated how much they enjoyed the Wizard game on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (not enjoyable at all) to 7 (extremely enjoyable). For logistical reasons, enjoyment ratings could only be collected from a subset of patients who attended Wizard training (n = 25).

The ‘Wizard’ memory training game. (A–C) Memory task: the positions of hidden geometrical figures have to be memorized and indicated (see main text for further explanation). (D and E) Narrative and example of a reward received after successful completion of a game round.