Rule Switch Game
Sort each card by colour or by shape, depending on the rule shown. The rule changes without warning. Free practice for flexibility tasks in game-based assessments.
How to play
- Read the rule above the card: COLOUR or SHAPE.
- Under COLOUR, choose left for blue and right for orange. Under SHAPE, choose left for circle and right for square.
- The rule switches at random. Respond quickly and accurately.
What it measures
Task switching measures cognitive flexibility, how quickly you reconfigure when the rules change. The extra time taken just after a switch, the switch cost, is the headline result.
Research basis: this game is our own implementation of the Task-switching paradigm. Monsell (2003), Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(3), 134–141. ↗
Tips to improve
- Read the rule before you look at the card.
- Say the rule under your breath on switch trials; it measurably reduces errors.
- Keep both mappings visible in your mind: left is blue or circle, right is orange or square.
Frequently asked questions
What is switch cost?
How much slower you are on a trial where the rule just changed compared with one where it repeated. Everyone has a switch cost; practice makes it smaller.
Why do the button labels stay the same?
So that the only thing that changes is the rule. That isolates flexibility from simply reading new labels.
Can I play with a keyboard?
Yes. Use the left and right arrow keys.
More assessment games
- Working memorySequence Memory GameWatch tiles light up in order, then repeat the sequence. Each success makes it one step longer. Practice for the memory tasks in game-based assessments.
- Focus under distractionArrow Focus GameFive arrows appear; respond to the middle one and ignore the rest. A free practice version of the focus tasks in game-based and cognitive assessments.