Behavioural games
Short games on risk, memory, attention and reactions
Some employers screen applicants with a set of short games instead of, or as well as, a written test. Each game records how you play, such as how much risk you take, how quickly you react or how much you remember.
Most of the games have no right or wrong answers, so the aim is to know the formats well enough that nothing on the day feels unfamiliar. These are practice versions of the game-based assessments some employers use, including the format made popular by pymetrics.
Not affiliated with any employer or assessment provider
Play on a laptop with a keyboard
A keyboard gives the steadiest timing. Phones work for most games, but tablets aren't ideal. Some games involve fast tapping and brief flashes.
Core games
- Money exchange (trust)Decide how much to send a partner who can send some back2 min
- Tapping speedPress one key as fast as you can until told to stop1 min
- Balloon riskPump a balloon for more virtual money or collect before it pops4 min
- Money exchange (sharing)Split money with a partner when nothing comes back2 min
- Digit memoryRemember growing lists of digits and type them back in order2 min
- Effort choiceChoose an easy task or a harder one for a bigger, less certain reward2 min
- Stop signalPress fast for one colour and hold back for the other2 min
- Card decksDraw from four decks and learn which ones pay over time2 min
- Arrow focusFollow the middle arrow or the side arrows as the colour changes3 min
- Length judgementJudge from a glimpse whether a mouth was the shorter or the longer one3 min
- Tower planningCopy a target board by moving one disc at a time, in as few moves as you can3 min
- Face emotionsPick the word that best fits each face, with a short story alongside on some of them2 min
Numerical and logical add-ons
- MagnitudesJudge which set of dots or which fraction is bigger6 min
- Number seriesFind the rule and fill the gap in a row of numbers6 min
- Hidden shapesSpot which simple shape is hidden inside a busy pattern6 min
- Letter memoryPress when a letter matches the one two steps back3 min
Some employers add these to the core set