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pymetrics Arrows Practice: Middle Arrow or Side Arrows?

Practise a pymetrics-style Arrows game: blue means follow the middle arrow, red means follow the sides. Review accuracy, speed and your switch cost.

Practice: 90 trials, about 2–3 minutesAlso called “pymetrics arrows game”Also called “pymetrics arrow game”

How the practice module works

  1. 01Five arrows appear in a row. Some point left and some point right.
  2. 02Blue arrows: answer the direction of the middle arrow.
  3. 03Red arrows: answer the direction of the side arrows (the four around the middle).
  4. 04Press ← or → (or tap Left or Right) as fast as you can without mistakes. Each set waits up to 2 seconds, and the colour can change on any trial.

Controls

  • Left and right arrow keys
  • Tap the Left and Right buttons on a phone

Included in 1 Game Platform Prep (when you choose Harver), All Games Platforms Prep and Full Access. See plans

Task
A flanker task: five arrows, and a colour cue decides which ones to follow (pymetrics patent, official)
Rule in the live game
Blue or black arrows: answer the middle arrow. Red arrows: answer the side arrows (prep sites)
Patent rule
The patent describes a different colour rule: a red centre among red arrows means follow the centre, a red centre among blue arrows means follow the blue sides (official)
Controls
Left and right arrow keys (prep sites)
Rounds
About 3 minutes; 135 rounds on most prep sites, 90 on one; colour changes come without warning (prep sites)
Game length
Each pymetrics game takes about 1 to 3 minutes (pymetrics FAQ, official)
Practice version
Candidate Falcon’s choice: 90 trials, up to 2 seconds each, half blue and half red, half congruent and half incongruent

What the pymetrics Arrows game looks at

Arrows is pymetrics’ version of the flanker task with a twist. Five arrows appear in a row, and their colour tells you which ones count. Prep sites describe the live rule: with blue (or black) arrows you answer the direction of the middle arrow, and with red arrows you answer the direction of the side arrows. Sometimes all five point the same way; sometimes the middle one points against the rest, which is where mistakes and slow answers come from.

The game looks at selective attention, meaning how well you ignore arrows that point the wrong way, and at cognitive flexibility, meaning how quickly you adjust when the colour, and so the rule, changes. Psychologists call the extra time after a change the switch cost. pymetrics’ patent describes the same idea with a different colour rule, so the details of the live game may vary; this practice follows the rule prep sites report.

pymetrics does not publish how it scores Arrows. Its games feed a model that compares your play with people who do well in the job, rather than a pass mark. Candidate Falcon’s practice shows your accuracy and median reaction time by rule, by arrow set and after a colour change, so you can see exactly where you lose time.

How the Arrows practice works

  1. Press Start and wait for “Get ready”. The first set of five arrows appears about 1.5 seconds later.
  2. Check the colour first. Blue: answer the direction of the middle arrow. Red: answer the direction of the four side arrows.
  3. Press ← or → on the keyboard, or tap Left or Right on a phone. Your answer moves you straight on to the next set.
  4. Each set waits up to 2 seconds. With no answer by then, it counts as too slow and the next set appears.
  5. There is no feedback during the 90 trials. At the end you see accuracy and reaction time by rule, by arrow set and after colour changes.

Arrows tips

  • Read the colour before the arrows: the colour tells you where to look.
  • For red sets, look at the outer arrows and ignore the middle one; for blue sets, do the opposite.
  • Keep two fingers resting on the left and right arrow keys so answering costs no movement.
  • Accuracy first, then speed: a wrong answer gains you nothing, and 2 seconds is longer than it feels.
  • Expect colour changes at any time. Do not assume the next set will follow the same rule.

Common Arrows mistakes

  • Following the middle arrow out of habit on a red set.
  • Answering on the first arrow you notice instead of the one the colour asks for.
  • Slowing down on every set out of caution, which leaves sets unanswered at 2 seconds.
  • Swapping the rules: remembering “red means middle” instead of “red means sides”.
  • Taking the real game on a phone when a computer is available; prep sites advise a keyboard.

A short Arrows practice routine

  1. Do one run to get a baseline for accuracy, reaction time and switch cost.
  2. Look at the rule table: if one colour is much less accurate, say its rule aloud before the next run.
  3. Look at the arrow-set table: if incongruent sets are slow, practise fixing your eyes where the rule tells you.
  4. Run again and try to bring the switch cost down while keeping accuracy above 90%.

Arrows FAQ

What are the rules of the pymetrics Arrows game?

Prep sites describe the live rule: with blue or black arrows, press the direction of the middle arrow; with red arrows, press the direction of the side arrows. You answer with the left and right arrow keys. pymetrics’ patent describes a different colour rule, so check the instructions on your screen.

How many rounds are in the pymetrics Arrows game?

pymetrics does not publish a count. Most prep sites report 135 rounds in about 3 minutes, and one reports 90. Candidate Falcon’s practice uses 90 trials of up to 2 seconds each.

What is a switch cost?

It is the extra time, or the extra mistakes, on a trial that comes right after the rule changed, compared with a trial where the rule stayed the same. A small switch cost suggests you adjust quickly to new rules.

Is it better to be fast or accurate in the Arrows game?

pymetrics does not publish how it weighs speed and accuracy. A sensible aim is to answer correctly first and then build speed, because a fast wrong answer adds nothing.

Is this the real pymetrics game?

No. It is independent practice by Candidate Falcon, built from the task in pymetrics’ public patent and prep-site descriptions, with original arrows and screens. It is not affiliated with pymetrics or Harver.

Independent practice by Candidate Falcon, based on pymetrics’ public patents and research and on prep-site descriptions. Not affiliated with pymetrics or Harver, and not their scoring. The game, its art and its wording are original, and practice results are not pymetrics scores. For all 12 games, timing, results and retakes, read the free pymetrics test guide.