🔢 Number Pattern Quiz
Crack the rule and fill in the ?
What comes after 2, 4, 6, 8? It starts that easy, then mixes in multiplying, alternating steps, square numbers and adding the two before. Get one wrong and you'll see the rule straight away.
About this quiz
Six numbers follow a rule, and one of them is a ?. Crack the rule and pick the missing number.
The first ones just add the same number each time. Later rules include multiplying, alternating steps, square numbers and adding the previous two (Fibonacci), and the blank moves from the end into the middle.
- Questions
- 10
- Subject
- Math
- Price
- Free
- Sign-in
- Optional
- Devices
- Phone, tablet, desktop
At a glance
How to play
- Start with the gaps
- Look at the difference between neighbours first. Equal gaps mean adding; growing gaps hint at multiplying or squares.
- Every answer explains the rule
- After you pick, one sentence tells you the rule behind the sequence, so a wrong guess gets corrected on the spot.
- Fresh sequences every round
- Sequences are generated fresh every round. A friend's challenge link gives you exactly their sequences.
Score ranks
Pattern Hacker
You cracked every hidden rule. Coding or data might suit you.
Pattern Detective
You spotted most rules at a glance. Only the mixed ones fooled you.
Puzzle Rookie
The simple rules are yours. Read the explanations for the ones you missed and more will click next time.
Number Dizzy
It's fine, once you've seen a rule you notice it next time. Give it another go.
Frequently asked questions
- Where does this kind of question come up?
- In math class, in aptitude tests, and in coding, where spotting a repeating pattern is the first step to writing a loop.
- Could two answers fit?
- The rule in the explanation is the one we mark against, and only one option fits it.
- What if it's too hard?
- The first three all add or subtract the same number. Get the feel there, then write out the gaps for the later ones.