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pymetrics Faces Game: Read the Emotion on Each Face, With and Without a Story

Practise the pymetrics Faces game: 14 illustrated faces, ten emotion labels, short stories that can conflict with the face, and a review of every answer.

Practice: 14 faces: 7 s each, 30 s with a storyAlso called “pymetrics Faces game”Also called “pymetrics emotions game”

How the practice module works

  1. 01Each face shows how a person feels. Choose the emotion from 4 or 5 of these ten: Anger, Determination, Disgust, Fear, Happiness, Hope, Pain, Sadness, Surprise and Puzzlement.
  2. 02About half the faces come with a short story. If the story and the face seem to disagree, answer for how the person feels in that situation.
  3. 03You have 7 seconds for a face alone and 30 seconds with a story. Running out of time leaves the item unanswered.
  4. 04There is no feedback during the run. The review explains every face afterwards.

Controls

  • Tap or click an emotion
  • Keys 1–5 choose the options in on-screen order

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

Task
Name the emotion on a face, some shown with a short story and some alone (official: pymetrics patent)
What it measures
Recognising emotions and using context (patent and prep sites)
Labels
Anger, Determination, Disgust, Fear, Happiness, Hope, Pain, Sadness, Surprise, Puzzlement (prep sites); the patent version offered 4 options
Length and timing
About 14 faces; about 7 s for a face alone and 30 s with a story (prep sites, unverified)
Stories
Some stories conflict with the face: answer for the person’s state in the situation (prep sites)
Practice version
14 original illustrated faces from a bank of 34, 4 or 5 options each, with a review of every face (Candidate Falcon practice)

What the pymetrics Faces game looks at

The pymetrics Faces game is an emotion recognition task. pymetrics’ patent describes pictures of people’s faces, some shown with a short story about their situation and some shown alone, and a list of emotions to choose from. The patent version offered four options. It measures how well you read emotions from faces and how you use the situation around them.

Prep sites report ten labels: anger, determination, disgust, fear, happiness, hope, pain, sadness, surprise and puzzlement, and a counter that suggests about 14 faces. They describe roughly 7 seconds for a face alone and 30 seconds when there is a story, but these times are not confirmed. Prep sites also warn that some stories conflict with the expression; the advice is to answer for how the person feels in the situation.

The real game uses photos. Candidate Falcon’s practice uses its own illustrated faces instead, drawn from a model of facial movements (brows, eyelids, cheeks, nose, lips, jaw and head tilt) across different skin tones and hairstyles. Each run mixes 7 faces alone, 5 stories that agree with the face and 2 that conflict with it, and the review explains every intended emotion.

How the Faces practice works

  1. Look at the face, and read the story first when there is one.
  2. Choose the emotion from the 4 or 5 options with a tap, a click or keys 1 to 5.
  3. When the story and the face disagree, answer for how the person feels in that situation.
  4. Each face has its own timer: 7 seconds alone, 30 seconds with a story. If it runs out, the face is left unanswered.
  5. After 14 faces, review your accuracy with and without stories and the emotions you mixed up.

Faces tips

  • Scan brows, then eyes, then mouth. Most emotions show in at least two of the three.
  • Fear and surprise both widen the eyes. Fear draws the brows together and stretches the lips; surprise arches the brows and drops the jaw.
  • Anger and determination both lower the brows. Anger glares and knits them hard; determination is steadier, with firmly pressed lips.
  • Hope is a small smile with the eyes looking up, still waiting; happiness is a full smile with raised cheeks.
  • Puzzlement is lopsided: one brow up, the mouth pulled to one side, the head tilted.
  • With a story, ask what the situation would make most people feel, then check the face.

Common Faces mistakes

  • Answering from the face alone when the story clearly points elsewhere.
  • Reading every open mouth as surprise without checking the brows.
  • Spending the whole 7 seconds on one feature instead of scanning the face.
  • Choosing happiness for any smile: a polite smile can hide another feeling.

A short Faces practice routine

  1. Run the 14 faces once and note your accuracy with and without stories.
  2. Read the review for every face you missed, especially the emotions you mixed up.
  3. Practise naming the features aloud: brows, eyes, mouth, head.
  4. Run it again a day later and see whether the same pairs still trip you up.

Faces FAQ

How many faces are in the pymetrics Faces game?

pymetrics does not publish the count. Prep sites report a counter of about 14 faces, which is what the practice uses.

What should I answer when the story and the face disagree?

Prep sites advise answering for how the person feels in the situation. The practice includes two such conflicts in every run, and the review explains each one.

Is the Faces game timed?

Prep sites report about 7 seconds for a face alone and 30 seconds with a story. These figures are unconfirmed; the practice uses them so you get used to answering quickly.

Are these the real pymetrics faces?

No. The real game uses photos that pymetrics does not publish. Candidate Falcon draws its own illustrated faces and writes its own stories, so you practise the skill rather than memorising items.

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.