How to use IQ Puzzles

IQ Puzzles collects the kinds of questions you meet in intelligence and aptitude tests: number series, language riddles, logic, number grids and visual patterns. It is a practice tool and a game. The score at the end is a rough, playful indication, not a measured IQ.

How the test works

• Test mode gives you 20 questions, each of a different type, drawn from 21 types and shuffled. You have 20 minutes; the clock counts down and the test ends automatically when time runs out.
• Every question has up to five answers, labelled A to E. Click one or press its letter (or 1 to 5). You can go back and change answers until you press Hand in.
• You get no feedback during the test. Afterwards you get your score, a breakdown per group and a review of every question with an explanation.
• Practice mode is endless. Each answer is checked right away with a short explanation, and you can limit questions to one group: Numbers, Language, Logic, Grids or Visual.
• The puzzles are available in English and Dutch; the language questions use separate word lists for each language.

Getting started

New to these puzzles? Begin in Practice mode at level 1 or 2 and read every explanation, even when you were right. Recognising the recurring patterns is half the work. A typical first question might show the series 3, 6, 12, 24, ?. Check the differences first: 3, 6, 12. They are not constant, so try ratios instead: each number is twice the previous one, so the answer is 48. When you feel ready, take the full test at level 3.

Question types and tips

• Number and letter series. Find the rule linking the terms: a fixed step, multiplication, growing differences, squares or two interleaved series. Tip: write down the differences, then try ratios, then odd and even positions separately. Convert letters to alphabet positions.
• Symbol sums and word problems. Symbols stand for numbers in small equations, or a story hides one. Tip: solve the equation with the fewest unknowns first, and for stories write the relationship as a formula before calculating.
• Number pyramid, magic square, number cross and number wheel. Pyramid blocks are the sum of the two below; magic squares have equal line totals; crosses and wheels follow one hidden rule. Tip: find a magic square’s total from a complete line first; for crosses, try the simplest rule (the sum of the outer numbers) before products or differences.
• Analogies, odd one out, synonyms and antonyms. Tip: put the first pair into a sentence (“a dog barks”) and check which answer fits the same sentence.
• Anagrams, missing word and hidden word. Unscramble letters, complete two compound words, or spot an animal hidden across word boundaries. Tip: for hidden words, read the sentence without spaces.
• Syllogisms and ordering. Decide which conclusion must follow from two statements, or rank people by height, age or speed. Tip: ignore real-world knowledge (made-up words are used on purpose) and sketch orderings as a line.
• Visual odd one out, visual series, matrix and mirror & rotate. Figures change in shape, colour, count or rotation. Tip: check one attribute at a time. In a matrix, check rows and columns; a mirror image can never be produced by rotating.

How the difficulty adapts

You choose a level from 1 (easy) to 5 (hard), and every question is generated fresh at that level, with harder rules, bigger numbers, longer anagrams and more changing attributes. Within a test the difficulty ramps up: unless you play at level 1, the first four questions are one level easier, and unless you are already at level 5, the second half of the test is one level harder. After a test, a score of 80% or more suggests moving up a level and less than 40% suggests moving down. The level does not change by itself; you decide when to take the step.

Taking that step matters. The brain seems to benefit most when the challenge rises along with your skill, so a level that always stretches you a little is better training than one you can answer on autopilot. You can read more about what research says about puzzles and brain health.

A short history of reasoning tests

The first practical intelligence test was published in France in 1905 by Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon, to identify children who needed extra help at school. The German psychologist William Stern proposed the idea of an intelligence quotient, and Lewis Terman at Stanford adapted Binet’s test for the United States in 1916. In 1938 the British psychologist John C. Raven published his Progressive Matrices: grids of patterns with one piece missing, a reasoning test that relies very little on language. Matrix puzzles like the ones on this page descend from that idea. Professional IQ tests are standardised on large, representative samples so scores can be compared with the population; this page does not attempt that.

Frequently asked questions