Section 1 of 5 · 5 puzzles
Pattern Recognition practice
Pattern Recognition is the first section of the test. Each puzzle is a row of tiles that changes by a rule, and you pick the tile that comes next. Try the example below before you open the solution.
Ready for the real thing? The full test has 25 fresh puzzles across all five sections.
What this section measures
Sequence puzzles test whether you can find a rule in unfamiliar material and apply it one step further. The skill is not spotting the first change you see. It is noticing that there may be two changes happening at once, and checking both. Our guide to pattern recognition lists every rule type the section uses.
Try it
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
Show the solution
The answer is C: an outlined circle with the dot in the top-left corner.
- Compare tile 1 and tile 2. Two things differ. The circle goes from solid to outlined, and the dot moves from the top-left corner to the top-right corner.
- Check tile 2 to tile 3. The circle goes from outlined to striped, and the dot moves from top-right to bottom-right. So the dot moves one corner clockwise each step, and the fill changes each step.
- Check tile 3 to tile 4. The fill goes from striped back to solid, and the dot moves to the bottom-left. Now the fill rule is clear: it cycles solid, outlined, striped, and starts again.
- Build tile 5. After solid comes outlined. One corner clockwise from bottom-left is top-left. The next tile is an outlined circle with the dot top-left.
- Check the traps. A has the right dot but the wrong fill. B has the right fill but repeats the last dot position. D and E each get one rule wrong. F gets both wrong. Only C satisfies both rules.
Notice that four of the six options share one feature with the answer. That is how sequence puzzles on the real test are built, and why checking every rule matters more than speed.
What changes on the real test
The test starts with puzzles that use a single rule. Later puzzles combine two rules on one shape, like this one, and the hardest give two different shapes their own rules. Every puzzle is generated fresh for your attempt, so you will not see this exact example. You will see the same kinds of rules.
Next, try a matrix puzzle, where rules run in two directions at once.