Frequency
Frequency rules ignore position entirely and instead track how often a feature occurs. A row or column might contain one, two, and three copies of a shape in some order — the specific arrangement within the cell doesn't matter, only the count. This makes frequency puzzles feel different from progression: you're not tracking a smooth change, you're checking that every count (or colour, or shape) appears exactly once per row and per column, like a mini Sudoku constraint.
Because order is irrelevant, frequency puzzles are easy to misread as random. The reliable method is to build a small table: list which count or feature appears in each row and column, then find what's missing in the last cell by elimination.
How to spot it
- •List what appears in each completed row and column — frequency rules usually mean each value appears exactly once per line.
- •Don't be distracted by the exact layout of elements inside a cell — only the count or feature matters.
- •Cross-check both the row and the column for the missing cell; the answer must satisfy both simultaneously.
- •If a shape and a count are both varying, treat them as two separate frequency rules to track in parallel.