Aon gridChallenge (P&G Grid Challenge)

Aon's gridChallenge is a working-memory test: dots appear on a grid one at a time, you answer a quick visual question between each dot, and at the end you tap where the dots were, in the order they appeared. Aon lists it as "Working Memory (gridChallenge)", "9 minutes to complete", in which you "complete nine tasks of varying difficulty", and says it "measures your ability to keep something in mind while simultaneously trying to process other information" (Aon). Procter & Gamble uses a longer version as the third task of its Interactive Assessment, which is why many candidates know it as the P&G grid challenge. It is one of the most trainable parts of an online assessment, because the strategy can be learned in an afternoon. Practise it free on our gridChallenge practice.

What is the Aon gridChallenge?

gridChallenge is one of Aon's short gamified tests (Aon's assessment business was formerly cut-e, and some invitations still carry that name). Aon's candidate page lists it next to digitChallenge (numeracy), switchChallenge (deductive reasoning) and motionChallenge (complex planning); prep sites often call the four "smartPredict". Aon has sold a gamified working-memory test since at least 2017, when it announced G.A.M.E. (Global Adaptive-Memory Evaluation), "the first scientifically derived, mobile-first, highly predictive, gamified working memory assessment", which focuses "on attention control instead of learned knowledge" (Aon blog, 2017). Aon does not say publicly whether gridChallenge is the same product under a new name, but the description fits.

Names, lengths and combinations vary between employers and hiring cycles. Your invitation and its practice screens are authoritative, including over this page.

How does gridChallenge work?

P&G publishes the most detailed public description of the task (P&G). Each task follows the same loop:

1. A dot appears in one of the holes on a grid. Remember where it was.
2. A second task follows: a quick visual judgement against a timer bar that "will count down quickly per picture".
3. Repeat. "You will alternate between viewing the dots and completing tasks 2-5 times."
4. Recall. You "report the location and order of the 2-5 dots you were shown". Your answer is submitted when you tap Submit or when the timer runs out.

The second task changes between rounds. In P&G's version there are three:

• Symmetry: is the right side of the picture a mirror image of the left?
• Rotation: is the right pattern the left one rotated, or rotated and mirrored?
• Addition and subtraction of shapes: do the top-left and top-right elements, added together (or one taken from the other), make the picture in the bottom box?

How long it takes depends on the employer. Aon's standard listing is nine tasks in 9 minutes. P&G describes "a fast-paced assessment made up of three rounds" that takes "about 12 minutes", with each round taking "about 4 minutes". Aon's 2017 description of G.A.M.E. also mentioned a "fast-paced, 12 minute" experience.

What does gridChallenge measure?

Two things, and separating them is what makes practice effective.

Spatial working memory span: how many positions you can hold, in order. The number of dots rises from two to five, so the task finds where your span gives way.

Holding under interference: whether the dots survive while you do something else. Plenty of people have a decent span that collapses the moment another task demands attention. That is the "simultaneously trying to process other information" in Aon's description, and the attention control Aon emphasised for G.A.M.E.

Both count. Recalling the dots perfectly while guessing the symmetry questions, or the reverse, leaves points on the table.

How is gridChallenge scored?

Aon does not publish the scoring, and P&G does not say how the dot recall and the in-between judgements are weighted. Treat both as counting: the recall asks for position and order, and the judgements run against a timer. As with Aon's other tests, results are compared with other candidates and the employer sets the bar for the role. Candidates who ask what score P&G needs get no official answer (Reddit), so aim to be comfortably above an unprepared field rather than at a number.

Strategy that does the work

Unlike behavioural or personality sections, this is a skill task, and skill tasks move with practice. Most of the early gain is strategy:

• Build a path, not a list. Five separate coordinates are five items. A path ("top-left, then across to the right edge, then down to the centre") is one shape in your head. Link each new dot to the last.
• Encode, then switch fully. When the dot appears, fix its position in a single glance and add it to your path. Then give the visual task your whole attention. A half-look at both is where most errors come from.
• Anchor to landmarks. Corners, centre and edges. "One in from the top-right corner" survives a distractor better than a raw position.
• Rehearse in the gaps. In the moment between answering a judgement and the next dot, replay the path once.
• Answer the judgements quickly but honestly. The timer bar runs fast. A clear yes or no from a quick scan is better than staring until the bar empties.
• Recall in order, once. Tap the dots in the order they appeared, at a steady pace. If one position is gone, tap your best estimate in its place rather than abandoning the rest of the sequence.
• Keep the rule straight in round two. On rotation items, "rotated" and "rotated and mirrored" are the two answers. Mentally turn the left pattern; if a feature ends up on the wrong side, it was mirrored.

How to practise gridChallenge

Our gridChallenge practice follows Aon's nine-task format: dots light up one at a time on a 4×4 grid, a symmetry question comes between each dot, and after the last dot you tap them back in order, from two dots in the first task up to five in the last. Each run uses a fresh set of dots generated and checked on our server. It uses only the symmetry distractor, so it trains P&G's first round directly; for the rotation round, add our mental rotation game.

Build the underlying capacity alongside it. The Corsi block test trains plain spatial span, digit span and backward digit span train holding and manipulating sequences, and the n-back test trains keeping track while new information keeps arriving, which is the closest drill to the interference in gridChallenge.

A week before the test:

• Day 1: one cold run of gridChallenge for a baseline.
• Days 2 to 5: ten focused minutes a day. Use the path strategy on every run, so it is automatic by test day. Working memory fades fast with fatigue, so short sessions beat long ones.
• Fix the environment: quiet room, notifications off, and a computer if you can. Aon says almost all its tests run on phones and tablets but "highly recommend[s] taking the assessment on a PC, laptop or notebook". Once a test starts, it cannot be paused.
• On the day: two or three warm-up rounds, so your first real grid is not also your cold start.

The rest of the assessment

gridChallenge rarely appears alone. For P&G, the P&G PEAK and Interactive Assessment guide covers the full stage, including the equations task, explained in the Aon digitChallenge guide, and the symbol-switching task, explained in the switchChallenge guide. For Aon's other tests, see the cut-e / Aon assessment guide. For how these games fit modern screening generally, start from the complete guide to game-based assessments.

FAQ

What is the Aon gridChallenge? A working-memory test. Dots appear one at a time on a grid with a quick visual task between each, and you then tap where the dots were, in order. Aon lists it as nine tasks in nine minutes.

What does the grid challenge measure? Spatial working memory and the ability to hold it while doing something else. Aon describes it as your "ability to keep something in mind while simultaneously trying to process other information".

How long is the P&G grid challenge? P&G describes three rounds of about 4 minutes each, about 12 minutes in total. Aon's standard listing is 9 minutes. Check your invitation.

What are the questions between the dots? In P&G's version: symmetry in round one, rotated or rotated and mirrored in round two, and adding or subtracting shapes in round three.

Do I have to recall the dots in order? Yes. P&G asks for "the location and order" of the dots, so order matters as well as position.

Can you practise for the grid challenge? Yes, and it is one of the highest-return things to practise. Span improves with training, and the path strategy improves it faster still.

What is a good grid challenge score? No employer publishes one. Results are compared with other applicants and with a bar the employer sets for the role.

Does it help to write things down? Do not plan on it. P&G asks candidates to complete the assessment on their own and without help, and it is a memory test. The path strategy exists so you do not need to.

GamePrep is an independent practice platform and is not affiliated with Procter & Gamble, Aon or cut-e. Task names and formats vary by employer and change between cycles, so verify everything against your invitation. We provide related practice only, with no leaked questions or answers.