Spot the pattern and pick the next number
| Read the sequence | Look for the rule. |
| Tap an answer | Choose the next number. |
Sequence Guess gives you a run of numbers and asks what comes next. Sometimes the rule is obvious, sometimes it takes a moment, and occasionally the pattern you first spot turns out to be a coincidence that breaks on the fourth term.
Number sequences are a staple of aptitude tests for a reason: recognising a rule from examples is a general reasoning skill rather than an arithmetic one. The trick is knowing which kinds of rule to look for, and there are only a handful that come up regularly.
Check the differences first. Subtract each term from the next, and if those differences are constant it is a simple arithmetic sequence. If the differences themselves form a pattern, you have a second-level rule.
Try division when addition fails. If the differences grow quickly, the sequence is probably multiplied rather than added, and dividing consecutive terms reveals a constant ratio.
Look for two interleaved sequences. A common trick is alternating rules, where the odd positions follow one pattern and the even positions another. If nothing works on the whole sequence, try every other term.
Verify your rule against every term, not just the last two. Many wrong answers come from a rule that fits the final pair coincidentally but fails earlier in the sequence.
Mostly adding a constant, multiplying by a constant, squares, and sequences where the differences themselves form a pattern.
Check them against every term. A rule that only fits the last two numbers is usually a coincidence.
Twelve per round, with lives lost for wrong answers.
Very much so. Number sequences are a standard component of reasoning tests.
No. Sequence Guess runs entirely inside this page, so it starts the moment the page opens. There is nothing to download, no plugin, and no account to create.