Introducing a New Lumosity
Learn more about our latest app updates!
Lumosity has been around for 20 years now, and technology has evolved quite a bit since our first release. Although we’ve made a lot of changes and improvements over the years, we’ve been in need of a big update for a while, to ensure that our games continue to work across all modern devices.
Once released, you will notice changes to the look and feel of Lumosity. These changes may take some getting used to, but rest assured, your training progress and all your favorite games are still there. If you run into any challenges or questions, we’re here to help and listen to your feedback.
Speaking of feedback, we’ve taken this update as an opportunity to incorporate a lot of your feedback. This includes a number of new games, improvements to existing games, better progress tracking tools, and many more exciting features.
We’re here to explain the latest changes, the science and reasoning behind them, and share more about what’s to come!
What’s changed?
Before we get into what’s different, it’s worth mentioning that the core Lumosity experience is the same as what you’re used to. All your progress has been saved, you’ll still get daily workouts designed to train a balanced set of cognitive areas, and our library of 40+ Brain Games still includes all your favorites.
Now, onto the new stuff:
New and improved games
Most of our member feedback relates to releasing new games or making changes to the ones we have. Our latest update includes both. Due to how we gradually release games across different platforms, some of these titles will be new to all members, while some may only be new to members using Lumosity on certain platforms (i.e. mobile). Here’s a quick summary of the latest additions and improvements:
Ruled Out (New): Challenge your Logical Reasoning by looking for hidden rules and patterns.
Cognition Kitchen (New to mobile): Spice up your Memory training with this recipe-recall exercise.
What’s My Name (New to mobile): Can you remember names and faces? This game will help you practice.
Penguin Rally (Improved): Formerly known as Penguin Pursuit, this game has received so many updates based on member feedback that we decided to give it a new name! Changes include: Time Trials for low-stakes practice, more penguins to race against, place-rankings, and more.
Follow That Frog (Improved): Follow That Frog now has clearer instructions and feedback, quicker gameplay, and beautifully updated art and animations.
New to non-English members: a number of games have been translated and made available for members who prefer to train in languages other than english: Halve Your Cake, Top That, Feel the Beat, and Organic Order.
Zen mode
Zen mode is a new training feature that kicks in after 50 gameplays. It allows you to play any game without impacting LPI. This simple toggle unlocks a world of opportunity when it comes to your training.
First, it allows you to play in a more relaxed state, to enjoy the fun of our games without any pressure that your overall stats are going to shift in some way.
Second, it allows you to experiment. Research indicates that the discovery of new strategies may often be the secret to breaking through learning plateaus. With Zen mode you can try all sorts of new ideas without worrying about any impact on LPI.
There are many more ways to take advantage of Zen mode. Check it out and let us know how you find it useful!
New look, feel, and tech foundation
If we’re working this hard to keep up with the cutting edge, we ought to look like it too. But, the app’s new appearance is more than just cosmetic.
Behind Lumosity’s visuals is an entirely new foundation of technology that will not only keep our games running smoothly on all devices, but allow us to make faster improvements going forward as well. This means that we can respond more quickly to feedback and continue delivering the experience you’re looking for.
Visually, our User Experience and Design teams went through dozens of iterations to create a layout that was less cluttered and easier to navigate, all while maintaining enough familiarity to ensure the app would still feel recognizable to our long-standing members.
The new design also created space for more features now and into the future. All of our members will notice the addition of Badges to the pre-game screen, and users of our mobile app will appreciate better visibility into their ongoing streaks.
Speaking of badges and streaks…
Badges and streaks: Track your progress and stay motivated
Another thing members often ask about is how they can track their progress and stay motivated.
Something we found in a 2023 study based on analysis of over 100,000 individuals, is that there is a strong relationship between the amount of brain training someone does and the performance improvements they see*. Based on that, we’ve focused these two features on rewarding members for putting in the time to train.
Streaks have existed for a while, but especially for mobile users, it wasn’t easy to see and track the number of consecutive days you’d been training. By making streaks visible on the Today screen across all platforms, we’re hoping members find a little more motivation to make a daily habit out of their Brain Training. Note: all it takes is 1 game a day to maintain your streak!
Badges are brand new and tied to each individual game based on how many times you’ve played.
*These performance measures can be seen in game scores as well as results from the NeuroCognitive Performance Test (NCPT), taken at various time points in the course of someone’s training.
Improvements to LPI
Most members are already familiar with the Lumosity Performance Index (LPI) as a standardized scale calculated from all game scores. Because these scores are standardized, LPI is an incredibly powerful tool for understanding your strengths and weaknesses across games from different brain areas, or to compare your scores with other members in your age group.
Our latest update adjusts how Game LPIs are weighted when calculating your Cognitive Area and Overall LPIs. We are now giving more weight to games you’ve played a lot of, and less to those you haven’t. Put differently, the more you play a game, the more influence it will have on LPI.
These changes will likely cause a shift in your Game LPIs and Cognitive Area LPIs. If you notice that your LPI has increased or decreased in a particular area, it’s simply an indication that your previous LPI was being overly influenced by games you haven’t played as much.
In addition, Game Scores and Game LPIs have been updated for several games to ensure accurate progress tracking. Some of your Top 5 scores have moved to a new area called “Legacy Scores,” where they'll always be available. Meanwhile, your new Top 5 scores will build up as you continue playing.
Finally, since Overall LPI is a composite of your Game LPIs, the changes mentioned above could cause a shift here. Any changes you see in Overall LPI DO NOT represent a change in your cognition, they are simply a new baseline for you to build on going forward. Ultimately, these changes will give you a more accurate representation of how your strengths compare between cognitive areas and when compared to others your age.