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N-Color Back is the n-back task using colours. A colour appears each turn and you say whether it matches the one from N turns ago. It is a gentler entry point than Dual N-Back because there is only one stream to track, which makes it the right place to learn the rolling-window habit before adding a second channel.
A colour appears, one per turn, at a fixed tempo.
Decide whether it matches the colour from N turns ago.
Respond only on a match.
Sustained accuracy raises N; repeated errors lower it.
Your score is the level you sustained.
Working-memory updating on a single stream. The mechanism is the same as Dual N-Back with half the load, which makes it far more practical for daily use.
Hold exactly N colours and drop the oldest every beat. Do not try to keep a longer list.
Name the colours. A verbal window is much easier to shift than a visual one.
Sync to the tempo. The rhythm is what keeps the window from slipping.
Silence is an answer. Pressing on every turn defeats the task.
Start here. Learn the rolling-window habit on one stream, then add the second.
It loads the same updating mechanism with less overall demand. For daily practice that is often the better trade.
Be solid at 2 before attempting 3. Most of the benefit is in sustained accuracy, not in a high N with guessing.
The task does, with practice. Whether that improvement reaches anything outside n-back is unproven — see the Dual N-Back page for the honest version of that debate.