Free abstract reasoning test

Free abstract reasoning test online: 12 pattern puzzles with hidden rules (rotation, movement, growth, matrices), new each attempt, explanations, shareable result.

FREE PRACTICE · NEW QUESTIONS EVERY ATTEMPT

Abstract reasoning test

Find the rule that links the panels, then choose the panel that comes next or completes the matrix. The rule is never stated: rotation, movement, growth or a way of combining two panels. These are original practice puzzles, not an IQ scale.

12 questions8 minutes56 in the bank

Choose your pace Timed practice · 8 minutes Learn at your pace · no countdown

Each attempt draws 12 of 56 questions, and a retake avoids the ones you have just seen. One point per correct answer, no penalty for guessing. Skip and return to questions; answers and explanations appear after you finish. Your progress stays on this page until you reload or leave.

What an abstract reasoning test measures

Abstract reasoning tests, also sold as pattern recognition, diagrammatic reasoning, inductive reasoning or non-verbal reasoning tests, show you shapes that follow a rule and ask you to apply it: which panel comes next in the sequence, which panel completes the matrix. There are no words to read and nothing to know in advance, which is why they serve as the general reasoning component of many graduate, technical and apprenticeship batteries. The skill is spotting a regularity quickly and checking it against every panel you can see.

How this free test works

12 puzzles, three kinds, four of each: rotation sequences (the whole pattern turns a quarter turn per panel), progressions (a shape moves one step per panel, or grows by one cell along a path) and 3 × 3 matrices (the third panel of each row combines the first two by a rule: keep the cells in both, keep the cells in either, keep the cells in exactly one, or subtract one from the other).
The rule is never stated. The first release of this test told you the rule in the question; that was an instruction-following exercise. Now it is the puzzle.
A bank of 56 generated puzzles, drawn fresh each attempt, with a retake avoiding the ones you just saw. Distractors are the other transformations of the same shape, so a wrong answer usually means a specific wrong rule, and the explanation says which.
8 minutes timed, or untimed while you learn.
An optional shareable result with a permanent link, preview image and Add to LinkedIn profile button.

Sample abstract reasoning puzzle

Three panels show a small shape on a 3 × 3 grid. In the first it sits in the top-left corner pointing right; in the second it is in the top-right corner pointing down; in the third it is in the bottom-right corner pointing left. The whole pattern is turning a quarter turn clockwise each time, so the fourth panel has it in the bottom-left corner pointing up. The distractors are the first panel again (the “it repeats” guess), the mirror image of the right answer and the third panel again.

In a matrix puzzle, compare the first two panels of a completed row with its third. If a cell filled in both of them is empty in the third, the rule removes shared cells. Check the same idea on the second row before applying it to the third.

How to improve your abstract reasoning score

Check one property at a time: position, orientation, number of cells, shared cells. Most rules change exactly one of these per step.
Use every panel you are given. A rule that explains the first step but not the second is the wrong rule. In a matrix, both completed rows must obey it.
Name the rule before you look at the options. Then find the option that matches; do not let the options suggest a rule.
Eliminate by kind. If the pattern is turning, the mirror image is wrong even though it looks close.
Pace yourself. Forty seconds per puzzle in timed mode. If nothing appears in twenty, skip and return.

Reading your result

The result guide explains the calculation, the four score ranges and which of the three puzzle kinds to practise. It is a percentage of these 12 puzzles, not a percentile and not an IQ score. Unsupervised practice, not a certificate.

Spatial reasoning test: rotations, reflections and cube nets on the same grids.
Logical reasoning test: rules stated in words rather than hidden in shapes.
Memory test: the same tile grids, remembered rather than reasoned about.

Frequently asked questions

Is the abstract reasoning test free?

Yes. All 12 puzzles, the score, explanations and a public result link are free, with no account and no email address.

Is the rule ever stated in the question?

No. Every prompt is just "which panel comes next" or "which panel completes the matrix". Finding the rule is the test. The explanation names it afterwards.

Are the puzzles the same every time?

No. The bank holds 56 generated puzzles: rotating sequences, shapes that move or grow across panels, and 3 × 3 matrices whose third column follows a combining rule. An attempt draws four of each kind and a retake avoids the ones you have just seen.

Is this a pattern recognition test, a diagrammatic reasoning test or a non-verbal reasoning test?

Publishers use all of those names for the same family of question: find the rule in a set of shapes. This test practises that family. It is not a Raven's matrices copy, not an IQ scale and has no norm group.

How is the score calculated?

One point per correct answer, zero for wrong or unanswered questions, and the percentage is correct answers divided by 12, rounded to the nearest whole percent.