Sequence memory is your ability to hold a list of steps in the right order for a short while. It is the same skill you use to remember a phone number long enough to dial it, or to repeat directions back to someone. A sequence memory game tests it directly by showing a pattern that grows by one step each round until you slip.
Why it has a limit
Short-term memory holds only a handful of items at once. The classic estimate is around seven, give or take a couple, though for ordered patterns the comfortable number is often a little lower. Past that point, new steps start to push earlier ones out, which is why a growing sequence eventually breaks no matter how hard you concentrate.
The good news is that the limit is about how you store the information, not a hard ceiling on how much you can handle. The right strategy stretches it.
Chunk the pattern
The most powerful trick is chunking: grouping the steps into small clusters and remembering the clusters instead of every step on its own. Three groups of three are far easier to hold than nine separate items. Look for natural pairs or runs in the pattern and bundle them, so your memory carries a short list of chunks rather than a long list of singles.
Give it a rhythm
Turning a pattern into a beat helps a surprising amount. If you tap out the sequence with an internal rhythm, you encode timing as well as position, which gives you a second handle on the same information. Many people find a tune or a steady cadence carries them a couple of levels further than silent staring.
Stay relaxed and watch widely
Straining tends to narrow your focus and scatter your recall. A calm, wide gaze that takes in the whole grid usually beats darting your eyes between tiles. Watch the pattern as a shape or a path rather than a set of unrelated flashes, and trust the picture you formed rather than second-guessing each step.
Try it yourself
The sequence memory test starts with a single tile and adds one each round. Try playing it once on instinct, then again while deliberately chunking and tapping a rhythm, and compare the levels you reach. The strategy usually shows up clearly in the score.