Episodic Memory
Wayfinding Game
Also called: wayfinding task, map study and navigation task, route learning game, numbered goals navigation task
Measure wayfinding in a game format: participants study a map, then walk to numbered stops in order through a dark grid world, and the score is how directly they get there.
8-12 minUntimed
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- Papers, 2021 to 2025
- 199
- Evidence grade
- C
- Registered clinical studies
- 14
Figures for the Virtual Maze Navigation test, the published test this game is compared with.
How these are countedWhat it measures
A game-format measure of wayfinding. Participants study a map with a start and numbered stops, then walk to the stops in order from memory through a dark grid world, seeing only the squares next to them. The main score is how directly each level is finished. It is a new measure: its reliability and norms come from use.
Constructs
- Wayfinding
- Spatial memory
- Route planning
Research uses
- Research on spatial navigation
- Research on wayfinding across adult ages
- Within-study group comparison
How the paradigm works
The Wayfinding Game is a game-format wayfinding task. A level opens with a map of a small town seen from above: walls, four kinds of landmark (a tent, a tower, a pond and a stone), a ring where the walker starts and numbered stops. The participant studies the map for as long as they like, from 3 seconds to a minute, and chooses I'm ready. The map then goes dark and shows only the squares next to the walker, and the participant walks to stop 1, then stop 2, and so on, in order, from memory. One press of an arrow key (or W, A, S or D) or one tap on an arrow button moves the walker one square. Tasks in which people study a map and then travel to numbered goals in order are used in wayfinding research (Coutrot and colleagues, 2019; Coughlan and colleagues, 2020; Puthusseryppady and colleagues, 2022). One such game, played by 3.9 million people, was used to describe how navigation ability varies with age and between countries (Spiers, Coutrot and Hornberger, 2023). This game is an original grid world built by ConductScience, and nothing is taken from those games' levels or art.
More about the paradigm
A session has two practice levels (7 by 7 squares, with 1 and 2 stops, with a plain line of feedback) and four test levels (9 by 9 squares with 2 and 3 stops, then 11 by 11 squares with 3 and 4 stops). A level ends when the last stop is reached, after four times the shortest route in moves, or three minutes after the map goes dark. A level that ends before the last stop scores 0, and the next level starts. Every move is kept with its time and whether a key or a button made it, and so is the time the map was studied.
The main score is route efficiency: on each test level, the shortest route through the stops in order divided by the moves taken to reach the last stop, so 1 is the shortest route and 0 means the level ended before every stop was reached, averaged over the four test levels. The test levels finished and the median time the map was studied are also reported. Nothing rewards speed: the score counts moves, not seconds. A game look and a plain look draw the same map and differ only in the ground and the wall surfaces, and each session records which look ran. Scores support research and do not diagnose.
Scores
- Route Efficiencyscore
- On each test level, the shortest route through the stops in order divided by the moves taken to reach the last stop (0 when the level ended before every stop was reached), averaged over the test levels.
- Higher is better; 1 is the shortest route
- Levels Finishedcount
- Test levels in which every stop was reached before the move and time limits.
- Higher is better; none is flagged for review
- Median Study Timems
- Median time the map was on screen before it went dark, over the test levels.
- Informational; nothing rewards a short or a long look
Use and evidence
199 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, up 39% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 152 of 582 test families in our census. These counts belong to the Virtual Maze Navigation test, the published test this game is compared with. This game is a new measure, so its own reliability and norms come from use. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 42 |
| 2024 | 34 |
| 2023 | 58 |
| 2022 | 36 |
| 2021 | 29 |
| 2020 | 37 |
| 2019 | 31 |
| 2018 | 26 |
| 2017 | 24 |
| 2016 | 25 |
| 2015 | 26 |
| 2014 | 18 |
| 2013 | 20 |
| 2012 | 16 |
| 2011 | 17 |
| 2010 | 20 |
| 2009 | 17 |
| 2008 | 15 |
| 2007 | 15 |
| 2006 | 6 |
| 2005 | 3 |
| 2004 | 5 |
| 2003 | 7 |
| 2002 | 10 |
| 2001 | 5 |
| 2000 | 1 |
Use grade C
100 to 299 papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade C
At least 2 test-retest papers, 30 reliability or validity papers or 3 registered clinical studies.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 3
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 25
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 14
Measured on ConductCognition
Pooled across the studies that feed our platform norms, by device group. A figure needs 50 or more people.
No pooled figure yet.
How the grades work
Use: A is 1,000 or more papers from 2021 to 2025, B 300 to 999, C 100 to 299, D 30 to 99 and E fewer than 30. Evidence: A means at least 25 papers report its test-retest reliability and at least 25 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome; B, at least 8 test-retest papers, and either 5 registered clinical studies or 150 reliability or validity papers; C, at least 2 test-retest papers, 30 reliability or validity papers or 3 registered clinical studies; D, little published measurement evidence found. The counts measure use. They include every paper that names the task in its title or abstract. Grades describe the published research on the Virtual Maze Navigation test, the published test this game is compared with, not the game's own.
Source: ConductCognition test census 0.39.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
Task design
The trial sequence as the test runs in ConductCognition.
- Levels
- Six original layouts, the same for everyone and in this order: two practice levels (7 by 7 squares, with 1 and 2 stops) and four test levels (9 by 9 squares with 2 and 3 stops, then 11 by 11 squares with 3 and 4 stops). Each is blocks of wall with streets between them.
- Map
- Seen from above: walls, three or four landmarks on open ground (a tent, a tower, a pond or a stone), a white ring for the start and numbered stops. The participant studies it for 3 to 60 seconds and chooses I'm ready; at 60 seconds the walk starts by itself.
- Walk
- The map goes dark and only the squares within 1 square of the walker are drawn. The participant walks to the stops in order, one square for each arrow key or W, A, S or D press, or each tap on an arrow button of at least 44 px. A press toward a wall is counted and does not move. Each stop reached shows a tick.
- Level end
- When the last stop is reached, after 4 times the shortest route in moves, or 180 seconds after the map goes dark. A level that ends before the last stop scores 0 and the next level starts.
- Feedback
- Practice levels end with a plain line saying how the level ended, and a stop reached gets a short pop on practice levels only. Test levels give none, and nothing rewards speed.
- Looks
- A game look, with grass on the open ground and brick lines on the walls, or a plain look with flat ground and walls. Landmarks, stops, start and walker are drawn the same in both, and each session records which look ran.
- Data
- Every move with its time and whether a key or a button made it, the time the map was studied and the saved layout, from which the scorer replays each level.
The Wayfinding Game is a new measure, not a version of a published test, and its own reliability and norms come from use. The published games cited below are different games with other levels and art; their results are research findings about those games and say nothing about this one. Scores count moves, not time, and support research.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: wayfinding_game from the scored run, the test levels, one per level. A level has no chance level, so accuracy is not judged against chance. A level in which the walker never moved is a missed response: more than max(3, 25%) invalidate and any is flagged. A session in which no test level was finished is flagged for review.
Why these rules
There is no correct option to compare with chance, so accuracy is not judged against chance. A level in which nothing was moved is not an attempt and signals non-engagement. A level that ends at the move or time limit before every stop is reached is a real result, and scores 0 for that level. These limits are ConductScience choices: the sources set none.
No percentile. Scores and quality flags only.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Look | Game | Game, Plain |
Every plan can change the look, which never changes how a result is scored.
Need a setting this test does not have?
Devices and languages
- Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops and tablets. Participant devices
- Languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese.
- Available on: Every plan, including the free plan.
- No percentile. Scores and quality flags only. How norms work
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Cite and describe
Participants completed the Wayfinding Game in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Coutrot et al., 2019), with the standard settings (look: Game). The main score was route efficiency (on each test level, the shortest route through the stops in order divided by the moves taken to reach the last stop (0 when the level ended before every stop was reached), averaged over the test levels).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Coutrot, A., Schmidt, S., Coutrot, L., Pittman, J., Hong, L., Wiener, J. M., Hölscher, C., Dalton, R. C., Hornberger, M., & Spiers, H. J. (2019). Virtual navigation tested on a mobile app is predictive of real-world wayfinding navigation performance. PLOS ONE, 14(3), e0213272. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213272The wayfinding design: study a map, then travel to numbered goals in order. In 49 adults the score on such levels followed their wayfinding on real streets (r = .46 in London and r = .57 in Paris).
- Spiers, H. J., Coutrot, A., & Hornberger, M. (2023). Explaining world-wide variation in navigation ability from millions of people: Citizen science project Sea Hero Quest. Topics in Cognitive Science, 15(1), 120-138. https://doi.org/10.1111/tops.12590A review of a navigation game played by 3.9 million people, on how navigation ability varies with age and country (abstract read).
- Puthusseryppady, V., Morrissey, S., Spiers, H., Patel, M., & Hornberger, M. (2022). Predicting real world spatial disorientation in Alzheimer's disease patients using virtual reality navigation tests. Scientific Reports, 12, 13397. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17634-wTwo navigation tasks given to 16 adults with Alzheimer's disease and 21 controls. The results belong to those tasks and say nothing about this game.
- Coughlan, G., Puthusseryppady, V., Lowry, E., Gillings, R., Spiers, H., Minihane, A. M., & Hornberger, M. (2020). Test-retest reliability of spatial navigation in adults at-risk of Alzheimer's disease. PLOS ONE, 15(9), e0239077. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239077Retest of two navigation tasks after about 18 months in 59 adults: intraclass correlations from .27 to .72 across parameters, so a retest figure depends on the task and the measure.
Source papers
Questions
How long does the Wayfinding Game take?
About 8 to 12 minutes, as listed in the test library.
What device does a participant need?
Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops and tablets. The browser must be Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
What scores does it produce?
Route Efficiency, Levels Finished and Median Study Time. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Virtual Maze Navigation test used in research?
These counts belong to the Virtual Maze Navigation test, the published test this game is compared with. This game is a new measure, so its own reliability and norms come from use. 199 papers from 2021 to 2025 name the task in their title or abstract, up 39% compared with 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 152 of 582 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade C). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.39.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Virtual Maze Navigation test have?
These counts belong to the Virtual Maze Navigation test, the published test this game is compared with. This game is a new measure, so its own reliability and norms come from use. In the published research, 3 papers report the task's test-retest reliability and 14 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade C in the ConductCognition test census).
Does it report a percentile?
No. Scores and quality flags only.
Which settings can a researcher change?
Look (Game, Plain). Every plan can change the look, which never changes how a result is scored.
Which languages can participants use?
Participants can take this test in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese. English is on every plan, and the other languages come with yearly plans. Have a native speaker read the machine-translated text before launch.
Is this a clinical test?
No. ConductCognition is for research use only. It runs, scores and exports the test; clinical interpretation is outside the platform.
Every test: the full test list.
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