🤯 Tricky Brain Test
Sixty sneaky levels where the whole screen is the puzzle. Read carefully, and think sideways.
How to play
- Read the question very carefully. It usually means exactly what it says.
- Try anything: tap it, drag it, hold it or even leave it alone.
- The question is part of the puzzle, so you can tap its words too.
- Stuck? The 💡 button gives you a hint, though you'll get fewer stars.
- Solve a level with no wrong taps and no hints for 3 stars.
- Levels open one after another, and you can go back to any you've reached.
A tricky brain test where anything could be the answer
Tricky Brain Test is a free brain teaser game with 60 sneaky levels. Each one gives you a short instruction, such as "wake up the rooster" or "tap the word here". Then it's up to you to work out what to do, because anything on the screen might be part of the puzzle, including the question itself. You might need to slide the moon out of the way, hold down a button, or do nothing at all. It plays in your browser with no download or sign-up, and it's great fun with a friend looking over your shoulder.
What makes these puzzles tricky?
Most games teach you the rules and then test you. This one keeps changing the rules. Your instinct is to tap the thing that looks like the answer, but the trick might be in the wording, in something you can pick up and move, or in the fact that there's a word in the question you can press. Some levels have no trick at all, and those can be the hardest of all, because by then you've come to expect one. It's the same kind of thinking used in lateral thinking puzzles and tricky riddles: you need to question your assumptions, and to try something you'd never normally try.
Tips for getting unstuck
Read it again, slowly. The instruction nearly always means exactly what it says. If it says "biggest number", that's not the same as the biggest writing. Try to move things. If something looks like it's sitting on top of something else, try dragging it. Tap the question. The words up there are live, so if there's nothing else to press, try them. Do less. If nothing seems to work, stop touching everything and wait. Use a hint. There's no shame in it, and you can come back later for the full three stars.
Stars and levels
There are 60 levels, and each one opens when you finish the one before it. You get 3 stars for solving a level with no wrong taps and no hints, 2 stars for solving it with wrong taps, and 1 star if you used a hint. There are no lives and no timers, except on the levels where waiting is the whole point, so you can take as long as you like. After each level, a short note explains the trick, so you'll get better at spotting the next one. You can always go back and replay any level to earn more stars.
Good for kids and grown-ups alike
Children often do better at this game than adults, because they haven't yet learned all the rules about what you're supposed to do on a screen. Reading is needed, but the questions are short, and a grown-up can read along with younger players. It's a nice one to play together: hand the device around the table, and see who can spot the trick first. All of the levels are clean and silly, with no scary or upsetting content.
Brain teasers that build real skills
Careful reading, flexible thinking and trying more than one approach are useful skills, and this game is a light-hearted way to practise them. Because it never tells you what kind of puzzle is coming next, you have to keep paying attention and to stop yourself from jumping to conclusions. Those are exactly the habits that help with word problems at school, and with spotting tricky wording in everyday life. If you enjoy that feeling of "oh, of course!", you'll find plenty more of it on our other puzzle pages.
Plays anywhere
The game works with a mouse or a finger, on computers, tablets and phones. Everything you do on a touch screen also works with a mouse: click to tap, and click and hold to drag. Your stars and your level are saved on your own device, so you can stop at any time and pick up where you left off.
Why we fall for tricky questions
Your brain is a very quick pattern matcher. When it sees "tap the biggest number", it has learned to look for what stands out, so your finger drifts to whichever number is drawn largest. Psychologists call shortcuts like these heuristics, and we'd be lost without them, because they let us make thousands of small decisions every day without stopping to think. But a good brain teaser is built to exploit them. That's why these levels can feel so satisfying: you catch your own mind taking a shortcut, and you learn to slow down. If you enjoy that, try explaining a level to someone else before they play. It's surprisingly hard to do without giving the game away!
More tricky games
For more puzzles like this, try Trick Question Trap, Lateral Thinking Mysteries or the visual puzzles in Picture Riddles. Every puzzle is on the Brain Games page.
Free and safe
Tricky Brain Test is free to play, with no download, no sign-up and nothing to buy. There is no chat, and your progress is saved only on your own device. See the Parents & Safety page for more.
Frequently asked questions
How do I play Tricky Brain Test?
Read the question, then try anything you like: tap, drag, hold or wait. The question itself can be part of the puzzle, so its words can be tapped too.
I'm stuck on a level. What should I do?
Press the 💡 button for a hint. It lowers your stars for that level, but you can replay it later to earn them back.
Do I need to read to play?
Yes, the questions are short, but they do need reading. Younger children can enjoy it with a grown-up reading along.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. It works by touch on phones and tablets, and with a mouse on computers.
Is Tricky Brain Test free?
Yes. It is free to play in the browser with no download, no account and nothing to buy.