Pattern Recognition
Work out the rule and pick what comes next: repeating shapes and colors, growing number patterns, and rule boxes. A practice tool, not an assessment.
Presets (free)
Settings dialsPro
Try the Pro dials: one round a day, free.Change any dial below and your next round uses them.
Which comes next?
Preview: a fresh pattern every item
About Pattern Recognition
Pattern Recognition is a cognitive stimulation exercise adapted from the Pattern Recognition pack in the worksheet library. Every item asks the same question in a different form: what is the rule, and what does it predict? Repeating patterns of shapes and colors build up from AB and AABB to longer cycles. Number patterns grow by a step, a multiple, or a rule like squares or Fibonacci. Rule boxes show a change across the top row, a quarter turn or a size change or one more dot, and ask for the same change applied to the bottom row, the classic non-verbal reasoning format.
Because the patterns are generated fresh each round, there is no running out of items and no memorizing answers. The screen also times each choice, so a round shows accuracy and the typical time to decide, which usually slows before errors appear. Near-miss wrong answers make the rule have to be exact, and a hidden-pattern mode removes the pattern before the choices appear, adding a working-memory load. Shapes-only mode keeps the task fully usable for colorblind users.
It is built for occupational therapists, caregivers, and anyone practicing reasoning and problem solving, and it runs in any browser with no setup. Pattern Recognition is a practice and cognitive stimulation tool, not a standardized assessment, and no patient information is collected or stored.
About the Pattern Recognition exercise
Spotting the rule behind a pattern is quiet, everyday reasoning: noticing that the bus comes every twenty minutes, that a pill organizer alternates morning and evening slots, or that the amounts on a statement climb by the same figure each line. After a stroke or a brain injury, or with attention changes, seeing the rule takes longer, and guessing takes over where reasoning used to.
Pattern Recognition is a free online reasoning exercise in the style of a pattern recognition test. Each item shows a repeating row of shapes and colors, a growing number pattern, or a rule box, and asks what comes next from four choices. Patterns are generated fresh every round, each choice is timed, and a round ends with accuracy and typical decision time.
What Pattern Recognition practices
- Rule finding
- Every item hides a rule: an AB or AABB cycle, add 3 or double, a quarter turn or one more dot. Naming the rule before choosing is the whole task.
- Non-verbal reasoning
- Rule boxes show a change across the top row and ask for the same change applied to the bottom row, the format matrix reasoning tests use, with no words involved.
- Working memory
- With the hide-after dial on, the pattern disappears before the choices appear, so the rule has to be held in mind rather than read off the screen.
How the tool works and what it records
Four modes: shapes and colors, numbers, rule boxes, and a mix. Free presets open the first three at the simplest settings with 10 items. Pro unlocks the dials: what varies (color, shape, or both), pattern length (simple is AB, AABB, ABB; mixed adds ABC, ABCD, AAB; complex adds ABBA, AABAB, ABCB and longer), 5 to 10 cells shown, basic or advanced number rules (advanced adds triple, squares, triangular, Fibonacci, primes, growing steps), and basic or all box rules (all adds half turn, mirror, color change, double).
Wrong answers can be plain or near misses, the pattern can hide after 1 to 10 seconds, and a round runs 5 to 20 items. Shapes-only mode and large print are free. Results show correct out of items, median and mean time on correct answers, total time, and a score per rule. A free account allows 5 rounds a day per tool; Pro removes the cap, saves a session log, and exports a worksheet PDF.
Screen or paper?
The screen suits practice that never runs out: patterns are generated fresh, every choice is timed, near misses and the hide-after dial add a load that paper cannot, and scoring is instant. Paper suits a person who prefers to circle answers with a pencil, work without a device or wifi, or keep a completed sheet.
The printable version is the Pattern Recognition worksheet set on rehabworksheets.com, and there is a free pattern recognition worksheet to try first, with no email required.
Is this a test?
The rule box format borrows from matrix and series reasoning tests such as Raven's Progressive Matrices, where the person picks what completes a pattern. This tool uses the format only: its items are generated, it has no norms, it is not an assessment, and it is not a substitute for evaluation by a qualified professional.
Using it well
- Start with shapes and colors. The first preset uses AB, AABB, and ABB cycles with both shape and color varying, which gives two cues to the same rule. Move to numbers or rule boxes once accuracy is steady.
- Turn on near misses before adding rules. With Pro, near-miss wrong answers share a feature with the right one, so the rule has to be exact. That raises the demand without new rule types, which keeps a slower round easy to explain.
- Watch the time as well as the errors. The results panel gives median time on correct answers. Decision time can climb while accuracy is still perfect, so a round that is all correct but slower than the last one is worth noting.
- Use shapes only and the keyboard when needed. Shapes-only mode removes color for anyone who cannot rely on it, keys 1 to 4 answer without a mouse or touch, and large print enlarges the cells and the choices.
Common questions
Is the pattern recognition exercise free?
Yes. A free account gives 5 rounds a day on each tool, with three presets, shapes-only mode, and large print. Pro unlocks the remaining dials, including near misses and the hide-after timer, plus unlimited rounds, a session log, and PDF export.
How is it scored?
Each item counts as correct or not, and the time from the choices appearing to the tap is recorded. The panel reports correct out of items, median and mean time on correct answers, the round total, and, when more than one rule appeared, a score per rule.
Is this like Raven's Matrices?
The rule box mode uses the same idea, a change shown in one row and applied to another, but with a 2 by 2 box, generated items, and no norms. It is practice, not the test, and says nothing about where a person stands against others.
What kinds of patterns are there?
Repeating cycles of shapes and colors from AB up to AABBCC, number patterns from add and subtract to squares, Fibonacci, and primes, and rule boxes where a shape turns, grows, shrinks, fills, changes color, mirrors, or gains dots. Mix mode draws from all three.
Can someone with color blindness use it?
Yes. The palette begins with red, blue, and yellow, with green as the fourth color, and shapes-only mode removes color from the patterns altogether so every rule is carried by shape.
This exercise supports cognitive stimulation and structured practice. It is not medical treatment or an assessment, and no specific therapeutic outcomes are claimed.