Neck Simon

About Neck Simon

Neck Simon is a memory game: the game plays a sequence of directions, you repeat it with head flicks, and one more direction is added every round. Your score is the number of rounds you complete, and a single wrong flick ends the run.

It is the purest test of the head-tracking input on the site, because there is no dodging, no timing and no physics — just whether you can reproduce a sequence of four distinct movements accurately. That turns out to be a genuinely different skill from remembering a sequence of button presses, since executing a clean flick takes real physical effort and the effort itself competes for your attention while you are trying to hold the sequence in memory. Most players find their recall is noticeably worse with a neck than with a keyboard, which is exactly the interesting part.

The playback speeds up as the sequence grows, from 520 milliseconds between steps down to a floor of 300, so long sequences are shown faster than short ones. Your best round count is kept in your browser's local storage.

How to play

• Watch the sequence of directions the game plays
• Head flick up, right, down or left — repeat the sequence in order
• Arrow keys or WASD — the same four inputs
• Each completed round adds one more direction
• One wrong direction ends the run

Tips & tricks

• Chunk the sequence. Grouping directions in threes is what gets people past round eight, and it matters more here because executing each flick takes attention that a keyboard press does not.
• Say it out loud. Verbalising the sequence offloads it from the same working memory you are using to control your head.
• Do not rush your input. There is no time limit on repeating the sequence, so a slow, clean flick is always better than a fast one that might read as the wrong direction.
• Return to neutral between every flick. Two flicks in the same direction back to back are the most commonly misread input, and the pause is what separates them.
• Playback speeds up as the sequence grows, bottoming out at 300 milliseconds per step — so from about round twenty onward you are memorising at a fixed fast pace rather than an escalating one.
• Watch the whole sequence before moving at all. Players who start flicking along with the playback lose the tail of the sequence, because the physical movement interrupts the rehearsal loop you are using to hold it.

Frequently asked questions

How does scoring work?

Your score is the number of rounds you complete. Each round adds one direction to the sequence.

Is there a time limit on my input?

No. You can take as long as you like to repeat the sequence — only the playback is timed, so there is never any pressure to rush a flick and risk it being read as the wrong direction.

Is Neck Simon free?

Yes, free in the browser with no download or account.

Can I play without a camera?

Yes. Arrow keys and WASD provide the same four directions.

Is my webcam footage saved?

No, tracking is processed locally in your browser.