Drifting off when you read, study or work? A Schulte table trains exactly that attention, and 49 makes it a game you want to come back to.
Focus longer
Stay with a task, a lecture or a long chapter without drifting.
Read faster
Take in more of the page at a glance, with fewer eye jumps.
React quicker
Spot what matters in a busy scene and act on it.
How it plays
Find the numbers from 1 to 49, in order, on a shuffled board.
Beat your time and climb from Rookie to Legend.
After each game, see what got better.
49 is a game for practising focus, not a medical product.
Trained like a racing driver
At racing speed, focus is everything. Professional drivers train attention, visual scanning and reactions as seriously as their fitness, and some use Schulte tables to do it. 49 turns that same drill into a minute a day.
300 km/h
Where one glance has to take in everything around you.
1 minute
A day is enough for the same drill. No race car needed.
A minute a day
Short enough to fit anywhere, and built so tomorrow’s game is easy to start.
Coming up this week
Classic SprintUnder 2:30
Seeing RedRed down, black up
Alphabet SoupLetters A to Y
Clean SheetNo mistakes at all
MetronomeRhythm of 50 or more
Everyone gets the same board, so you can compare with friends. Most days it moves or changes its look too. Special days bring a board of their own: a pumpkin on Halloween, a heart on Valentine’s Day, a ball of yarn on Cat Day (17 February and 8 August) and a bone on Dog Day (1 July and 26 August).
Today’s quests
Finish a game without a mistake1 of 1
Play 3 games2 of 3
Reach a ×2 combo0 of 1
Finish all three for bonus XP.
Insights
Your top row got faster.
Numbers there now take you 0.3 seconds less than last week.
1:21
1:18
1:19
1:14
1:12
1:13
1:09
Streak
12 days in a row
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Streak freezes are earned as your streak grows, and save it on a day you miss. An optional reminder makes sure it never breaks by accident.
Daily
Quests
Insights
Streak
A clean time trial.
Just you, the board and the clock. No points and no effects, nothing to pull your eyes away from the numbers. This is the classic Schulte table, and the purest test of your focus.
After each game you see your time, pace and misses, your focus lapses, and your Rhythm: how evenly you found each number.
Points, combos, ×3.
Every number is worth 100 points, plus up to 50 for speed. Find the next one before the combo timer runs out and the multiplier climbs: ×2 at a combo of 5, ×3 at 15.
A wrong tap halves the combo but never takes points away. Want the effects without the pressure? Relax keeps the sounds and celebrations and drops the points and the records.
Normalor Competitive
Three ways to play
Count up from 1 to 49 or down from 49 to 1, or play Number Madness in Classic, where the next number is random. Each mode keeps its own records and its own rank.
Classic
One board, one time. Beat your best, climb from Rookie to Legend and see exactly where the seconds went.
Endless
Finish a board and the next one is already waiting. Your score is your pace in numbers a minute. Stop when you like.
Beat the Clock
The clock runs down. Every number you find gives time back, and every miss takes some away. How far can you go?
Race your friends
Play 1 v 1, 2 v 2 or with a whole group, from a class to a team at work. Everyone gets exactly the same board, so the only difference between you is focus.
Race
Same board for everyone, round after round. The fastest wins each round, and the points add up to the final standings.
Points battle
Ranked by Competitive points, so speed and combos both count. A clean streak can beat a quicker but messier run.
Knockout
For groups. The slowest player each round is out, until one is left standing.
Ghost race
You play first and your run becomes the ghost. Friends race it whenever they like that day, and see live whether they are ahead or behind.
Friends join with a five-character room code, a QR code or a link, and everyone picks a nickname for the game. No one to play with? Open the Lobby to join a public room, or let Quick pairing find you a match. No phone each? Pass yours around in guest mode.
Steal
One board, live, head to head. Whoever taps a number first scores it, and it disappears for the other player.
Five sizes, three kinds of board
5 × 5 up to 11 × 11
A quick 5 × 5 or 6 × 6, the standard 7 × 7, and 9 × 9 or 11 × 11 for tryhards.
Numbers
The classic table. Find them in order, up or down.
Letters
A to Y on a 5 × 5 board, for when digits feel too easy.
Red & Black
Count the red numbers up and the black ones down, switching with every tap. A playful drill for moving between tasks without losing track.
Stuck? A hint shows where the next number is. You get a few each day, and each one adds 5 seconds, so hints help you learn but never set a record.
What your time earns
Every mode, direction and style has its own rank, set by your best result there. This is what each one takes on the standard 7 × 7 board. Times scale for smaller, bigger and harder boards.
Rank
Classic
Endless
Beat the Clock
Finish a game
Finish a board
Play a run
Under 2:00
25 a minute
30 numbers
Under 1:30
32 a minute
50 numbers
Under 1:10
40 a minute
70 numbers
Under 0:55
48 a minute
90 numbers
Under 0:45
56 a minute
115 numbers
Under 0:35
65 a minute
140 numbers
The board up top is a 4 × 4 taster. Ranks start on the full boards, in the app.
On top of the ranks sit 94 global Game Center leaderboards: fastest time and most points by board and direction, for today, this week, this month and all time. The Daily Challenge has its own board, and your best attempt counts.
498achievements
They reward speed, precision, focus, combos, streaks and curiosity. Tiered ones climb eight medals, from bronze to prismatic.
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Platinum
Sapphire
Amethyst
Ruby
Prismatic
Classic speed36
Warming UpFinish a Classic game in under 120 seconds.Bronze
Century BreakerFinish a Classic game in under 100 seconds.Silver
SpeedyFinish a Classic game in under 70 seconds.Gold
Speed ReaderFinish a Classic game in under 60 seconds.Platinum
LightningFinish a Classic game in under 45 seconds.Sapphire
RocketFinish a Classic game in under 38 seconds.Amethyst
SuperhumanFinish a Classic game in under 35 seconds.Ruby
Precision and focus36
FlawlessFinish a Classic game without a single mistake.Bronze
Locked InFinish a Classic game without a single focus lapse.Bronze
UnshakableFinish 10 Classic games without a focus lapse.Gold
Metronome IVScore a Rhythm of 90 or more in a Classic game.Tiered
Score and combos44
High Scorer IScore 2,000 points in one Classic game.Bronze
High Scorer IIIScore 6,000 points in one Classic game.Gold
Triple Threat IVReach the ×3 multiplier in 100 games.Tiered
Endless and Beat the Clock64
Double UpFinish 2 boards in one Endless run.Bronze
Long HaulFinish 4 boards in one Endless run.Gold
Clock Stopper IFind 25 numbers in one Beat the Clock run.Bronze
Clock Stopper IIIFind 75 numbers in one Beat the Clock run.Gold
Board sizes80
6 × 6 Regular IFinish 10 games on 6 × 6, Dailies included.Bronze
11 × 11 LegendReach Legend on 11 × 11: under 136 seconds.Tiered
Red & Black and Letters80
Red & Black 5 × 5 LegendUnder 14 seconds on Red & Black 5 × 5.Tiered
All day, apps compete for our attention, and they are very good at winning. Feeds, notifications and autoplay are built to take it. Almost nothing is built to give it back.
I think that is backwards. Focus is what lets you read a page without drifting, study without reaching for your phone and do your best work. Like strength or speed, it is something you can practise.
So I took the Schulte table, a paper drill used for decades to train attention, visual search and speed reading, and made it a game you want to come back to. A minute a game, a new board every day, and after each one a sentence on what got better.
It is a game, not a medical product, and it won’t diagnose or treat anything. What it gives you is one minute a day that trains your focus instead of draining it.
Weekly, monthly, yearly or lifetime. Yearly starts with a free week, and lifetime works with Family Sharing. It also keeps a small independent game going.
Play it now
49 is in open beta on TestFlight, Apple’s app for testing new apps. Install TestFlight, then tap the button on your iPhone.
Join the betaOn a computer? Scan this with your iPhone camera to join.Playing with friends? They can scan this with their iPhone camera to join.
Rather wait for the App Store?
iPhone
Leave your email and we’ll tell you when 49 is on the App Store. Nothing else.
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That didn’t go through. Please try again, or email us at contact49game@icloud.com.
Android
On Android? Get one email when 49 comes to Android.
You’re on the Android list. We’ll email you when 49 comes to Android.
That didn’t go through. Please try again, or email us at contact49game@icloud.com.
We only email you about the launch, and remove you whenever you ask. Privacy policy
Soon. It is in open beta on TestFlight right now, and the App Store for iPhone comes next.
What do I need to play?
An iPhone with iOS 17 or later.
Is it really free?
Yes. Every mode, board, look and feature is free. Free players see an ad between some games, never during one. Premium removes the ads, and one rewarded ad gives you 30 minutes without any.
What is a Schulte table?
A grid of shuffled numbers that you find in order as fast as you can. It is a classic exercise for attention, visual search and speed reading, named after the German psychiatrist Walter Schulte.
What is the difference between Normal and Competitive?
Normal is a plain time trial: no effects and no points, just your time. Competitive adds points, combos and a multiplier up to ×3, with effects and sounds that build as you go. Each style keeps its own records and ranks.
How does scoring work in Competitive?
Each number is worth 100 points plus a speed bonus of up to 50 that shrinks the longer you take. A combo of 5 doubles your points and a combo of 15 triples them. If the combo timer runs out the combo is lost, and a wrong tap halves it. Numbers slowly lose value as a game goes on, so studying the board before you start never pays.
Can I play with friends?
Yes. Multiplayer has 1 v 1, 2 v 2 and group rooms with Race, Points battle, Knockout, Ghost race and Steal. Friends join with a code, a QR code or a link. You can also pass your phone around in guest mode.
Will it improve my focus?
You will see your own times, pace and accuracy improve as you play, and Insights shows you where. 49 is a game for practising focus, not a medical product. It does not diagnose, treat or prevent any condition.
Is it accessible?
Yes. It has full VoiceOver support, Reduce Motion, Bold Text and charts you can hear as Audio Graphs. You can turn off confetti, flashes or haptics in the Accessibility settings. Color vision uses colors that stay easy to tell apart, and Hide found numbers clears each number once you find it.
Which languages does it speak?
English, Polish, German, French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian, Japanese and Korean.
Does it collect my data?
Your games, scores and stats are kept on your iPhone and in your own iCloud, and there is no account to create. In Multiplayer, other players see your profile: your nickname, photo, rating and results. The app sends anonymous usage statistics with no names and no game history, and you can turn them off in Settings. Game Center is optional. The ads in the free version come from an ad network that may collect some data to show them, and Premium removes them. The privacy policy has the details.
How do I restore Premium on a new iPhone?
In the app, open Settings, then Premium, and tap Restore purchases while signed in with the Apple Account you bought it with.
Is there an Android version?
Not yet. 49 is made for iPhone for now. Join the Android waiting list and we will email you when it is out.
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Platinum
Sapphire
Amethyst
Ruby
Prismatic
