Rules
In episode 7 of The Genius: Black Garnet, a player with three black garnets tried the Black Mission “Memory”. Twelve cards showed a number on one side and a bus stop name on the other. He studied them, the cards were shuffled, and then he had to name the stop for each number as it came up. He got one stop wrong (the Hardware Store), and the mission failed.
Our version
- The route has 12 stops, numbered 1 to 12, with invented village names.
- You study the route for 60 seconds (30 seconds if you choose the show’s time in free play). Press I’m ready to start early. When time is up, the route is hidden.
- The 12 numbers then come up one at a time, in a random order. Tap the stop name for each.
- One wrong answer ends the mission. Naming all 12 completes it.
- Your score is how many stops you named before the end.
- Cross out used names (a setting, on by default): names you have already given are crossed out. Turn it off to play from memory alone. Giving the same name twice is always wrong.
- The Daily route is the same for everyone each day. Free play routes can be raced against friends in an online room.
Strategy
First letters. The player on the show took the first letter of each stop and chanted them in order. Four short chunks of three letters are much easier to hold than twelve names.
Make a story. Walk the route in your head: from the Crossroads past the Police Box to the School Gate. A picture for each stop sticks better than the words.
Learn the numbers, not just the order. The numbers come back mixed, so you must jump straight to stop 9. Anchor every third stop (3, 6, 9, 12) and count from the nearest anchor.
Use the leftover names. Late in the mission only a few names are left. If you are unsure, check which of the remaining names fit your story.