On this page you can find some additional information about the game. You can play the game here.
What is Numpad Says Number Constants
Numpad Says Number Constants (NSNC for short) is a game similar to the game Simon Says, but instead of four different colors there are 11 keys, the ten digits and the decimal point, and instead of a random sequence NSNC uses irrational mathematical constants, such as pi (3.14159…), Euler's number (2.71828…) or the golden ratio (1.61803…).
When you start at level one the game will show you the first digit of the choosen constant. Next you have to repeat the digit. If you have successfully repeated the sequence you will move on to the next level where there is one more digit added to the sequence, just like in Simon Says. If you think this goes too slowly, you can change the number of digits per round in the options menu to progress multiple levels each time.
The options menu can be found by pressing the gear icon in the main menu.
Why did I make this
NSNC can be used as a tool to learn number constants, which can be useful when you need to for example remember pi for a contest. Other than that, it is also just a fun game the play if you’re bored.
The reason this game works quite well for remembering number constants, is that instead of remembering raw digits, you are remembering paths on the numpad. Similarly to for example learning to play a song on a piano, this game can learn you to “play” number constants on the numpad. And even though there do exist other methods for learning number constants, such as turning the numbers into characters and making words out of them, or memorizing the digits along a journey through your house, I have found that this game requires less effort and learns you more digits in a shorter amount of time.
Tips for playing NSNC
I strongly recommend playing with either a keyboard with a numpad on it, or a touch device. I found that playing this game with a mouse is not as pleasant.
What I like to do when learning some number constant, is splitting the number into chunks consisting of two or more digits, depending on the random patterns that inevitably occur, so for example the first few digits of pi can be split into:
3. | 1415 | 92 | 6535 | 8979 | 323 | 846264 | 3383
Now each of these chunks you need to remember the motions of entering them on the numpad for, which just like learning to play a song on an instrument will get into your muscle memory. Also you should experiment with whether you prefer using two (or more) fingers instead of using just one, because that may reduce the time it takes to type in all the digits by a lot.
The sounds the numpad keys make may help with remembering the digits, but if there is too much lag between pressing a button and the sound being played the sound can be quite annoying, especially if you are to go at a fast pace, so you can turn off the sound effects for the numpad keys in the options menu. Note that this will not mute the other sound effects, such as the error sound which plays when you enter a wrong digit, so you will still hear when you have made an error.