Practice the CCAT
Crack the CCAT
The Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT) is a fast-paced, mixed-format test popular with tech and startup employers. Build your matrix-reasoning speed and accuracy so the abstract-reasoning questions don't cost you time you need elsewhere.
10 questions · no sign-up required
Fresh puzzles every time
Every test is a freshly generated set of 10 questions in the exact 3×3 matrix-reasoning format — retake as often as you like without seeing the same puzzle twice.
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See your score right away, with a full review of every question and a clear explanation of the underlying rule.
Your difficulty, your pace
Choose easy, moderate, or hard sets — or adaptive mode, which adjusts to your answers. Add an optional time limit for realistic exam pressure.
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Know the rule families
Nearly every matrix-reasoning question — whichever test you're facing — is built from a handful of recurring rule types. Learn to recognise them and you'll solve most puzzles in seconds.
Progression
Something changes step by step along the row or column: an element is added or removed, or the figure grows, shrinks, or changes colour.
Rotation
The figure turns by a fixed angle with every step. Work out the direction and the angle, then picture the last figure turned once more.
Frequency
The order of the figures doesn't matter — what matters is how often each feature appears in a row or column: shapes, colours, alignments or quantities.
Construction
Two cells combine into the third. In harder versions the combination has extra logic — for example, overlapping parts cancel each other out.
Motion
Objects change position inside the cell with each step. Track each object's direction and distance — different objects can follow different movement rules.
Complex questions
Several rules operate at once — and some elements may be pure decoys. If one rule doesn't explain everything, look for a second (or third) before answering.
A solving strategy that holds up under pressure
Scan first
Sweep the rows and columns quickly. When the rule is obvious, the answer often jumps out — no deep analysis needed.
One characteristic at a time
No luck? Examine a single feature — shape, colour, quantity, position, alignment — and check whether a pattern governs it across rows, columns, or both.
Test the rule against the answers
Apply your rule to the six options and eliminate. If more than one option fits, your rule is incomplete — there's probably a second rule in play.
Don't get stuck
Most timed assessments give you a minute or less per question. If one won't crack, move on and come back at the end with the time you saved.
What is the CCAT?
The Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT), published by Criteria Corp, is a 50-question test with a strict 15-minute time limit — roughly 18 seconds per question — combining math, verbal, and spatial/abstract reasoning items. Because it's so tightly timed, candidates who move quickly through easier verbal and numerical items free up time for the abstract-reasoning matrix puzzles, which tend to take longer to work through. Practicing matrix-style questions until pattern recognition becomes near-automatic is one of the highest-leverage ways to prepare, since it's the abstract-reasoning section where most candidates lose the most time relative to its share of the test.
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