Sense Training - Kim's Game

Observe 24 different items within one minute and be able to remember and write down at least 18 of them by memory within three minutes

This game was taken by B-P from Rudyard Kipling's book for boy's "Kim". This is the story of the orphan son of an Irish soldier in India who grew up among the native boys and was later trained for government intelligence work. The training began by showing Kim a tray of precious stones and gems for a minute's observation, then covering it, and asking Kim how many stones and what kind they were.

At first Kim could remember only a few, but soon, by practice, he was able not only to say exactly how many, but to describe the stones. Then he practiced with other articles, and ultimately was able to glance to see all sorts of details of items that were of value in tracing and dealing with criminals.

In its commonly used form, 24 articles of different kinds -- a key, a pocket knife, a computer disk, a coin, a marble, a comb etc. -- are placed on a table and covered with a cloth. The player steps up to the table, the cloth is removed for exactly one minute; the player looks, endeavoring to remember as many as possible, and the player writes down as many as they can remember.

As with Kim, the purpose of this requirement is to develop the faculty for observation and memory.