How the Alva Labs logic test works
You see one task at a time. Each is a 3 by 3 grid of figures with the bottom-right square empty and marked with a question mark, and six options below it. The rules run left to right along the rows and top to bottom down the columns, never diagonally, and the right answer has to fit all of them. You cannot skip a task or go back to one.
Each task has its own 2-minute window. A time indicator sits above the options, a notice appears when 30 seconds are left, and at 2 minutes the task closes. A task left unanswered counts as wrong. Alva says the window is there to measure ability, not speed under stress, and that the tasks are meant to be challenging but not impossible.
Your score is not simply the number you got right. Alva weighs which tasks you got right and wrong, so two people with the same number correct can end up with different results. You see your score straight away on a 1 to 10 scale, where 5 and 6 are the most common results, and you can download the report. Employers such as SEB and Academic Work use Alva’s tests in their hiring.
How to solve the Alva matrix tasks
Work through each grid in the same order:
- Read the top row left to right and name what changes: shape, count, size, shading, position or rotation.
- Check the middle row follows the same rule. If it does not, the rule is something else, so look again.
- Now read the columns top to bottom. A grid often has one rule across and another down.
- Say what the missing square must be before you look at the options, then find the option that matches.
- Check your choice against both its row and its column. Wrong options often fit one rule and break the other.
Worked example
Top row: a circle with 1 dot, a square with 2 dots, a triangle with 3 dots. Middle row: a square with 1 dot, a triangle with 2 dots, a circle with 3 dots. Bottom row: a triangle with 1 dot, a circle with 2 dots, then the missing square.
Along every row each shape appears once, so the bottom row still needs a square. Down every column the dots stay the same: 1 in the first, 2 in the second, 3 in the third. The answer is a square with 3 dots. A square with 2 dots breaks the column rule, a circle with 3 dots breaks the row rule, and a shaded square with 3 dots adds a fill that no other figure in the grid has.
Tips for the real Alva logic test
- Use the two practice tasks to get used to the layout and the timer. They do not count.
- Always pick an answer before the 2 minutes run out. A blank counts as wrong, so a reasoned guess is better.
- Expect tasks you cannot solve. Alva builds the test to be hard, and most people score 5 or 6.
- Most people finish in 15 to 20 minutes, under a minute a task. Keep the full 2 minutes for the hard ones.
- Take it in a quiet place in one sitting. You can pause, but only for a limited time.
- Stay in the test window. Alva’s proctoring flags switching tabs or windows, other tools and screenshots.
- Practising on similar tests is allowed under Alva’s fair play policy. Using AI during the test is not.
Practise the Alva Labs logic test on CogniPrep
Our version gives you 20 grid tasks with the bottom-right square missing and six options, 2 minutes per task and a notice at 30 seconds, with no overall clock. The first three tasks warm you up, then each task is chosen to match how you are doing. Pick an option and press Submit, or use the A to F keys and Enter. A blank counts as wrong and there is no skip, back or pause. Your result is an estimate on Alva’s 1 to 10 scale. Our tasks are our own and we set their difficulty by design, and we have no practice tasks, so read the rules above first.