How the Balance game works
Each round shows a few scales that already balance, with shapes on both sides. They tell you how the shapes trade against each other: two circles might weigh the same as one square. Below them is a question scale with an empty side, and you drag shapes onto it until it would balance.
Treat each balanced scale as an equation. The challenge is chaining them together quickly and without slips.
How to solve a balance puzzle
Use the same four steps on every round:
- Find a scale with a single shape on one side. It gives you that shape’s value in terms of the others.
- Substitute that value into the other scales so everything is in one unit, such as circles.
- If the same shape sits on both sides of a scale, remove one from each side first. It still balances.
- Add up the question scale in your chosen unit, then build the same total on the empty side.
Worked example
One scale shows 2 circles balancing 1 square. Another shows 1 triangle balancing 3 circles. The question scale holds 1 square and 1 triangle.
In circles, the square is worth 2 and the triangle is worth 3, so the question scale is worth 5 circles. Put 5 circles on the empty side and it balances.
Tips for the real Balance task
- Do the practice task in onboarding. Arctic Shores offers one before the assessment starts.
- Note each shape’s value as soon as you find it, so you are not holding several relationships in your head.
- Before you submit, swap your answer back into the scales and check both sides match.
- Take the first rounds steadily. Once the method is automatic, later rounds go faster.
- If numbers are hard for you, request an adjustment first. Dyscalculia is on Arctic Shores’ list, and adjustments cannot be added once you begin.
- Use a device and browser from Arctic Shores’ supported list, on a stable connection.
What your score means
There is no Balance score in what Arctic Shores sends you. Balance is reported to test numerical reasoning, but Arctic Shores does not say which parts of your report it shapes. After the assessment you get one emailed report for every task you took, broken into “dimensions”, each placed on a four-point scale against similar candidates.
Arctic Shores’ candidate guidance page puts it differently: a 1 to 10 spectrum for each behaviour, sent only if your employer chooses. The employer gets a single fit number from 1 to 100, measured against what it agreed good looks like in the role, and Arctic Shores says there is no single way to pass.
Practise Balance on CogniPrep
Our Balance game gives you 10 scales puzzles a run, from easier to harder, with 60 seconds each and a score out of 100 at the end. Use it to make the substitution method automatic before your real assessment. The question count and timer are ours, because Arctic Shores does not publish its own.