How to get better at logic puzzles: number series and pattern matrices

Why practice actually works

Number series and pattern grids test fluid reasoning: finding rules in information you have never seen. You cannot memorise the answers, but you can learn the kinds of rules puzzle makers use. People who take the same type of test twice usually score better the second time, mostly because they know what to expect. That is why the TraitMix logic puzzle test generates new puzzles every round.

Number series: a four-step method

1. Look at the differences. Subtract each number from the next. Many series are simple once you see these gaps.
2. Look at the differences of the differences. If the gaps themselves grow by a steady amount, you have found the rule.
3. Check for multiplication. If numbers grow fast, divide each by the previous one. A steady ratio means a multiplication rule.
4. Split the series. If nothing works, look at every other number. Two simple series are often woven together.

Worked example

Series: 3, 5, 9, 15, 23, ? The differences are 2, 4, 6, 8. They grow by 2 each time, so the next difference is 10 and the answer is 33.

Series: 2, 10, 4, 20, 6, 30, ? Differences jump around, so split it. The odd positions go 2, 4, 6 and the even positions go 10, 20, 30. The next number is in the odd sequence: 8.

Common number rules

Pattern matrices: rows first

In a 3×3 grid, each row (or column) usually follows the same rule. Work through it like this:

1. Read the top row as a sentence. What changes from left to right: shape, number, size, rotation, shading?
2. Check whether the second row follows the same rule. If it does, apply it to the third row.
3. If rows don't work, try columns, then diagonals.
4. Track one feature at a time. Many grids combine two rules, such as shape changing across a row and count changing down a column.
5. Eliminate answers. Cross out any option that breaks a rule you are sure of. Often only one remains.

The most common grid rules

• Each row contains the same three shapes in a different order.
• The number of items increases by one across a row.
• A shape rotates by the same angle at each step.
• The third picture is the first two combined, or what is left when you remove what they share.

Practise smart, not long

• Short daily sessions beat one long weekend binge.
• After a wrong answer, find the rule before moving on. That is where learning happens.
• Time yourself only after accuracy is good. Speed comes naturally once rules feel familiar.
• Play when you are alert. Your chronotype affects reasoning more than you might think; check yours with the chronotype test.

What a puzzle score does and doesn't mean

Puzzle scores are fun to compare with friends, and practice will raise them. They are not an IQ score: a real IQ needs a professionally normed test taken under controlled conditions. Improvement on one puzzle type also does not automatically spread to other kinds of thinking. Enjoy it as a challenge, and read how accurate online tests are for the wider picture.

Frequently asked questions