How Short Cuts works
Short Cuts is only in the six-game version of Cognify, which some employers ask for instead of the standard three games. Each puzzle has a blue marble and a starred area, and the aim is to get the marble there as efficiently as possible: the shortest route, not just any route.
The board has obstacles with their own rules, which you have to allow for as you move. You are reported to be able to undo your last move, reset the level, or skip a level and come back to it, and shorter routes earn more stars. The game is reported to run 7 rounds in 7 minutes.
How to approach Short Cuts
Plan first, then move:
- Look at the whole board before your first move. Find the star, then trace back from it to the marble.
- Learn what each obstacle does in the tutorial, because the best route depends on it.
- When two routes look possible, count the moves in each before you commit.
- Use undo for a single wrong move, and reset only when the whole route was wrong.
- If a level beats you, skip it and come back with whatever time is left.
Tips for the real Short Cuts
- Check your invitation. If it lists three games, you will not get Short Cuts.
- Repeat the tutorial until you know how every obstacle behaves.
- Efficiency is the aim, so a fast but roundabout route is not a good answer.
- On a laptop or desktop, use a mouse.
Practise Short Cuts on CogniPrep
Our Short Cuts is a simpler grid version: 10 puzzles on one 8-minute clock, on boards from 4 by 4 to 6 by 6 with blocked squares. You build the route square by square, up, down, left or right, and the shortest route length is shown for each board. It has none of the special obstacles the real game is reported to have, so it trains route planning rather than the full rule set. Skip records a puzzle as unsolved, with no coming back. Your score out of 100 weighs puzzles solved most, then how close your route was to the shortest, then speed.