Pattern Reasoning Test

What it measures

Your ability to spot an abstract rule in a visual pattern and apply it to find the missing piece - a core part of what psychologists call fluid reasoning, the on-the-spot problem solving you use with unfamiliar material rather than learned facts.

How it works

You see nine 3x3 grids, each with the bottom-right cell blank. Every grid is built around a single logical rule - a change in the number of shapes, the shape itself, the shading, or the rotation - that runs across the rows and down the columns. You pick which of six options completes the pattern. Difficulty rises from single-rule grids to ones where two features change at once. All puzzles are generated by an original, rule-based drawing routine seeded for the session, so they are reproducible and reuse no copyrighted test artwork. Your score is the number solved out of nine, mapped to a plain-language band.

Tips for an accurate result

• 1Change one thing at a time — Check each feature separately - first how many shapes, then which shape, then the shading, then any rotation. It is easy to miss a second rule.
• 2Cross-check rows and columns — A real pattern holds in both directions. If your answer only fits the row, re-examine the column.
• 3Eliminate, do not just match — Rule out options that break the pattern. The distractors deliberately differ from the answer by a single feature.
• 4Retest rested — Tiredness, stress, and unfamiliarity with puzzles all lower scores. One run on a tired evening tells you very little.