Figure sequences
Free dMAT figure sequences practice — no login.
A full dMAT figure sequences subtest at exam pacing: 20 series, 25 minutes. Each series shows four matrices whose figures move, turn and recolour by fixed rules; you choose the fifth and sixth matrix from three options each. No account, no email, no payment.
The figures change by fixed rules from one matrix to the next. Work out matrices 5 and 6.
Building the series…
Keyboard: press 1–3 to choose an option, Enter for the next series.
01How this mock test works
Generated fresh, simulated to stay legal.
Every series is built in your browser the moment you reach it. The generator gives each figure a movement, rotation and colour rule, then simulates all six matrices and checks that no figure overlaps another or leaves the grid — so the series is always consistent and solvable. The rules it used are the explanation you read afterwards.
The rules a figure can follow
- Figures can change colour, cycling through a fixed set.
- Figures can rotate 90° at a time around their own axis.
- Figures can move — horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
- A movement, rotation or colour change can grow by x + 1 each step.
- Figures cannot disappear, overlap, or leave the matrix.
- At a border a figure either bounces off it or moves along it.
This drill covers the figure sequences subtest. The other core subtests have their own timed drills: dMAT Latin squares practice and dMAT mathematical equations practice. The fourth subtest is the longer general academic module, a 90-minute reading test.
02Format and timing
What the figure sequences subtest actually asks.
The subtest gives you 20 series in 25 minutes, or 75 seconds each. Every series shows four 4×4 matrices in order, and you determine the fifth and the sixth — each from three options, so there are two answers per series and no partial credit for getting the rule almost right.
Each figure follows its own rule and never interacts with the others. That is the single most useful fact about this subtest: a series with three figures is three easy problems in a row, not one hard one. No calculator, rough paper or notes are allowed, so the rule has to be held as a sentence in your head rather than sketched.
03Worked examples
Four series, with the rule behind every figure.
Fixed examples you can study without the clock running. Each shows the four given matrices, the two that answer the task, and the rule each figure is following — stated the way it is worth saying to yourself in the exam. They run from one figure to three.
- 01
Track one figure and ignore the rest
lowWith a single figure the series is a pure movement rule. Read its position in each of the four given matrices, say the rule out loud in one sentence, then step it forward twice. Everything harder is this same move repeated.
1
2
3
4
5 · answer
6 · answer
Worked example 1: four given matrices, then the fifth and sixth the rules produce. Matrices 5 and 6 are the two on the right, above answer.
How you get there
- 1The orange square moves up and down column 2, bouncing off the top and bottom borders.
- 02
Two figures are two independent rules
mediumFigures never interact. Solve them one at a time: fix on the first figure across all four matrices and settle its rule completely before you even look at the second. Trying to watch both at once is the most common way to lose time here.
1
2
3
4
5 · answer
6 · answer
Worked example 2: four given matrices, then the fifth and sixth the rules produce. Matrices 5 and 6 are the two on the right, above answer.
How you get there
- 1The yellow square moves diagonally, bouncing off the borders.
- 2The pink circle moves diagonally, bouncing off the borders.
- 03
Watch for the figure that speeds up
highMost figures move a constant step. Some accelerate — one field, then two, then three. If a figure's positions do not fit a constant step, check the gaps between them before you assume you have misread it.
1
2
3
4
5 · answer
6 · answer
Worked example 3: four given matrices, then the fifth and sixth the rules produce. Matrices 5 and 6 are the two on the right, above answer.
How you get there
- 1The red triangle moves back and forth along row 2, bouncing off the side borders.
- 2The yellow diamond moves counter-clockwise around the outer border by x + 1 fields each step.
- 3The orange circle moves back and forth along row 2, bouncing off the side borders.
- 04
Three figures, three sentences
highAt the top of the difficulty range you get three rules at once. The discipline is unchanged: one figure, one sentence, then move on. If you can state all three rules, both answer matrices follow without guessing.
1
2
3
4
5 · answer
6 · answer
Worked example 4: four given matrices, then the fifth and sixth the rules produce. Matrices 5 and 6 are the two on the right, above answer.
How you get there
- 1The green triangle moves back and forth along row 1, bouncing off the side borders.
- 2The black diamond moves back and forth along row 1, bouncing off the side borders.
- 3The blue triangle moves diagonally, bouncing off the borders.
04dMAT preparation
Four ways to read a series faster.
Track one figure at a time
With two or three figures moving at once, follow a single figure across all four given matrices, nail its rule, then move to the next. Trying to read them all together is where mistakes creep in.
Watch the borders
Most movement rules only become clear at an edge — a figure either bounces back or runs along the border. Seeing which one settles the whole path.
Check for x + 1
If a figure moves one field, then two, then three, it is accelerating. The same can apply to rotations. Count the change between each pair of matrices, not just the first.
Eliminate, then choose
For each of the fifth and sixth matrices you pick from three options. Rule two out by the figure whose rule you are surest of, and the third is usually forced.
Installable as an app — use your browser's Install or Add to Home Screen option to practise offline.