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Card Shark

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Stephanie
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Card Shark—one of the exercises from BrainHQ’s Intelligence category—is what’s known as a visual n-back test. You will be presented with playing cards that are added one at a time to a sequence. Once presented, the card is turned over. Your task is to decide if the current card matches the card presented a specific number of steps back in the sequence.

A screenshot from Card Shark. A deck of cards is to the left, with an arrow indicating that a card from the deck moves to a Display space. From the Display space, another arrow pointing down and to the right indicates a card would move to a holding space at the bottom of the window. Another arrow pointing up and to the right from the holding space indicates that a card would move then to a comparison space. On the far left side of the window is a large, dark Yes button, and on the far right side of the window is a large, dark No button.

There are a few of things to be aware of in this exercise:

  • The Deck: On the left there is a deck of cards that are placed facedown. The card art is there to indicate that the card is face down. 
  • The Equal Sign: This shows you which two cards are going to be compared.
  • The Display Space: One card will be drawn from the deck and be placed face up in this space.
  • The Holding Spaces: These are spaces that cards can be held in when waiting to be moved to the Comparison Space. These cards will all be face down.
  • The Comparison Space: This is the card that you have to compare to the Display Card. It sits to the right of the equal sign, and will remain face down.

Here’s how the exercise works:

  1. At the START screen, you’ll be shown what kinds of cards you’ll be asked to match in the Display and Comparison Spaces, and any Holding Spaces that the level will start with are presented at the bottom (not present for all levels). Select START to begin.
    A screenshot of a start screen from a level of Card Shark. At the top middle of the screen are two club cards face up with an equal sign between them. Below that in the center is a large, dark START button. Below the START button in the center is a card placed face down, indicating the holding space.
  2. A card is drawn from the deck and placed face up to the left of the equals sign, in the Display Space. Remember this card.
    An animation from Card Shark. A card, a club, is drawn from the deck on the left, and is placed face up in the space to the left of the equals sign.
  3. The card in the Display Space will then move to a Holding Space (if available) and be placed face down. Simultaneously, a new card is drawn from the deck and placed face up in the Display Space.
    An animation from Card Shark. The card to the left of the equals sign moves down to the bottom center of the screen and is placed face down in the holding space. Simultaneously a new card is drawn from the deck, another club, and placed face up in the space to the left of the equals sign.
  4. The cards will continue to shift from the Display Space to the Holding Space, and then from Holding Space to Holding Space (if more than one is present).

    An animation from Card Shark. A new card is drawn from the deck, a spade, and placed face up in the space to the left of the equals sign. The card that was in the display space to the left of the equals sign shifts to the holding space in at the bottom center of the screen. The card that was in the holding space shifts to the space to the right of the equals sign. The Yes button flashes green, indicating that the user submitted the correct answer - the cards on both sides of the equals sign are both revealed to be spades.
  5. Once there is a card in the Display Space and in the Comparison Space, your task is to determine if the face up Display card matches the face down Comparison card.
    An animation from Card Shark. A new card is drawn from the deck, a club, and placed face up in the space to the left of the equals sign. The card that was in the display space to the left of the equals sign shifts to the holding space in at the bottom center of the screen. The card that was in the holding space shifts to the space to the right of the equals sign. The Yes button flashes green, indicating that the user submitted the correct answer - the cards on both sides of the equals sign are both revealed to be clubs.

If an incorrect answer is given you’ll hear a “bonk” sound, and the amount of cards you’ll be asked to remember in the sequence may be reduced (this is done by removing a Holding Space if there’s one present). If the correct answer is given you’ll hear a “boop” sound, and the amount of cards you’ll be asked to remember in the sequence may increase (this is done by adding another Holding Space). In both cases, the level then continues, repeating from Step 3 above. 

Card Shark is what’s known as a Continuous Performance Task (CPT) exercise. This means that speed and accuracy are both important when you are selecting your answers. Because of this, there are two ways to be marked wrong: 

  • Selecting the incorrect answer
  • Not answering correctly within the time limit

You can review the exercise video tutorial below:

Card Shark from BrainHQ from Posit Science on Vimeo.

We also have a recording of a live demonstration of this exercise here:

As you progress through Card Shark it becomes more challenging in these ways:

  • The number of items to remember in the sequence increases
  • The information to remember for each item changes (suit, number, both)
  • The cards are presented for less time

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