Pymetrics Arrows Game

In the pymetrics arrows game a row of five arrows appears and you press the arrow key for the direction of the middle arrow when the arrows are blue or black, and for the direction of the side arrows when they are red. Prep providers report about 135 rounds in roughly three minutes (JobTestPrep, Game Assessment Prep). It combines two classic attention tasks: the flanker task (ignore the arrows around the one that matters) and task switching (change rules when the colour changes). Unlike the balloon or money-exchange games, it has right and wrong answers and it rewards practice. You can drill the centre-arrow part free on our flanker arrows test and the rule switching on task switching.

What is the pymetrics arrows game?

The rules as prep providers report them, since Harver does not publish them:

• Five arrows appear in a row. The outer arrows either point the same way as the middle one (<<<<<) or the opposite way (>><>>).
• Blue or black arrows: respond to the middle arrow. Red arrows: respond to the side arrows. JobTestPrep's wording is "If the arrows are blue or black, you will need to indicate the direction of the middle arrow. If the arrows are red, you will need to indicate the direction of the side arrows" (JobTestPrep, updated 11 November 2025).
• JobTestPrep says the game "consists of 135 rounds and lasts 3 minutes". Game Assessment Prep works that out to "an average pace near 1.3 seconds per trial" (Game Assessment Prep, updated 28 September 2026).

Game Assessment Prep is candid that the colour mapping "comes from one detailed source pattern rather than a verified production recording". So treat the colours as the most likely version, not a certainty, and read the instruction screen in your invitation before the first round. Harver describes the full battery as "12+ interactive, gamified experiences" that take "approximately 25 minutes" on average (Harver); pymetrics' help centre says each game lasts "only 1-3 minutes" and cannot be paused (pymetrics Support Center).

What does the arrows game measure?

Harver lists attention, focus and learning among the traits its games assess (Harver). JobTestPrep says the arrows game "assesses your learning abilities, attention, and adaptivity". In cognitive terms there are two demands:

Selective attention (the flanker effect). When the side arrows point against the middle one, your response slows and errors rise, because the side arrows are processed along with the target and pull you toward their direction. Psychologists have measured this since Eriksen and Eriksen's 1974 study, which used letters rather than arrows (Eriksen & Eriksen, 1974). Arrow versions are the common form in hiring games. Our flanker test guide explains the effect in more detail.

Cognitive flexibility (switching). The colour cue changes the rule. A red set after a blue one forces you to drop "middle" and pick up "sides" within about a second. Game Assessment Prep defines the switch simply: "A trial is a switch when its rule differs from the previous trial." Switch rounds tend to be slower and more error-prone than repeat rounds, because the old rule is still active; psychologists call this the switch cost.

How is the arrows game scored?

There is no public pass mark. Game Assessment Prep notes "No public universal pass mark exists" and that employers may weight patterns differently by role. pymetrics compares your whole trait profile with a profile built for the role, and if you reuse results for another application, pymetrics says "your existing gameplay data will be re-assessed against the new role profile you have applied to" (pymetrics Support Center).

What the game can record is clear enough: how many rounds you got right, how fast you answered, how much the conflicting arrows slowed you, and how much a rule switch cost you. Prep providers report that the recruiter's report shows "Matching traits" and "Traits to probe" rather than raw numbers (JobTestPrep). Accuracy is the part you control most directly, and with 135 rounds in three minutes, a steady, accurate pace beats bursts of speed.

How to do well on the arrows game

1. Memorise two rules, not three colours. "Blue or black: middle. Red: sides." Game Assessment Prep gives the same advice: "Memorize two rules, not three colors."
2. Read the colour before the arrows. The colour tells you where to look. If you look at the arrows first, you will answer with whichever rule you used last.
3. On blue or black, narrow your focus. Look at the centre point of the row so the middle arrow is all you see. The side arrows are noise.
4. On red, look at the ends. The side arrows all point the same way, so either end gives the answer. One glance at the left-most arrow is enough.
5. Reset in the gap. Game Assessment Prep's advice is to "reset through the blank" between rounds. Do not carry the last rule into the next round; wait for the colour.
6. Accept the switch cost. You will be a little slower on the first round after a colour change. That is normal. Guessing to keep the pace up costs more than the slight delay.

How to practise the arrows game

pymetrics' help centre says you cannot preview the games (pymetrics Support Center), but both demands in this game respond to practice.

Step 1: the centre-arrow rule. Our flanker arrows test is the blue-or-black half of the game: 30 rounds, five arrows, answer for the middle one while the side arrows agree or disagree. The score out of 100 combines accuracy (60%) with median reaction speed (40%), so both accuracy and pace count.

Step 2: the switching. Our flanker test does not have a red "sides" rule. For the rule change, use task switching, which makes you flip between two rules on a cue, and the Stroop test, which trains answering the instruction rather than the most obvious feature on screen.

What first attempts look like on GamePrep. Among 359 players' first attempts on our flanker arrows test (July to November 2026), the median score was 74 out of 100. The middle half scored between 63 and 87, the top tenth 92 or more, and the bottom tenth 60 or less. Among the 49 players who came back for at least three runs, the median gain from the first run to the third was 6 points. Those players chose to return, so treat that as a rough guide rather than a promise, but it fits what you would expect: most of the early gain is familiarity, not a change in attention. The full distribution is on our score benchmarks page, and our cognitive test statistics study puts flanker results next to the other attention and memory tests. These are people practising, not pymetrics candidates.

A short plan that fits the game: two or three flanker runs a day for a few days, then a task-switching run after each, then one rehearsal where you say "blue middle, red sides" before you start and hold a steady pace for three minutes.

Where the arrows game sits in the pymetrics battery

The arrows game is one of the games where practice pays off most, with the digits game and the stop game, which also reads attention but through holding back a press. The tower game rewards a planning habit. Trait games such as the balloon game have no right answer. The complete pymetrics games guide covers all twelve, and Harver vs pymetrics explains why your invitation may name either company.

FAQ

What are the rules of the pymetrics arrows game? Prep providers report that for blue or black arrows you press the direction of the middle arrow, and for red arrows the direction of the side arrows. Harver does not publish the rules, so check the instruction screen.

How long is the arrows game? Prep providers report 135 rounds in about three minutes, roughly 1.3 seconds a round.

What does the arrows game measure? Attention (ignoring the arrows that do not matter) and flexibility (changing rules when the colour changes). Prep providers also describe it as reading how quickly you learn and adapt.

Is it a flanker test? Partly. The blue-or-black rounds are a standard flanker task. The red rounds add a second rule, so the game also measures task switching.

Can you practise the pymetrics arrows game? Yes. Our flanker arrows test practises the centre-arrow rule, and task switching practises changing rules on a cue. Among players who returned for a third run on our flanker test, the median gain was 6 points out of 100.

Should I go fast or be accurate? Accurate first. With 135 rounds, a wrong guess costs more than a slightly slower correct answer, especially on the first round after a colour change.

Can I retake the arrows game? Not freely. pymetrics allows candidates "to play the games once every 330 days", and within that window your existing results are re-assessed for each new role.

What if I am colour-blind? The game depends on telling red from blue. pymetrics offers a colour-blindness accommodation, chosen in a "Game Configuration" pop-up before you start (pymetrics Support Center).

GamePrep is an independent practice platform and is not affiliated with pymetrics or Harver. Game sets vary by employer and change between cycles; treat your invitation and its instructions as the source of truth. We provide related practice only, never leaked questions or answers.