BCG Pymetrics Test | Step-By-Step Guide to All 12 Games

Main ideas / lessons conveyed

• BCG Pymetrics test purpose: A 20–30 minute online screening test used by BCG to evaluate candidates before the first interview.
• Format: 12 mini-games, each lasting about 1–3 minutes, taken on a computer or smartphone.

• Assessment focus: Uses behavioral science + AI to measure 91 cognitive traits across 9 categories: attention, decision-making, effort, emotion, fairness, focus, generosity, learning, risk tolerance.

• Impact on hiring: Results may determine whether you get an invitation to a first interview.

• Where/when required: Required for candidates for BCG offices in the US and some other regions (undergraduate, MBA, PhD/postgraduate, and experienced professionals).
• Role of invitation: You receive the test invitation after submitting your resume, before the first interview round.

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Step-by-step strategies (by game)

Game 1: Keystroke game (attention/focus)

• Task: Press a key (e.g., spacebar) repeatedly as fast as possible from “Go” until “Stop” appears.
• Strategy:
  • Do not start pressing until you see “Go.”
  • Keep your finger as close to the key as possible before “Go.”
  • While pressing, press down but avoid fully lifting off between presses (reduces slow/awkward movement that can affect timing).
  • After “Stop”, lift your finger as high as possible quickly to reduce accidental keypresses after stopping.

Game 2: Balloon game (risk-taking/learning)

• Task: Repeatedly inflate a balloon to increase its sale value; if you overinflate, it bursts and you get no money. Done for 20–40 balloons. Balloons are in different colors, and each color bursts after a different number of presses.

• Strategy:

  • For each ball color, learn the burst point.
  • For the first 1–2 balls of each color, keep pressing until it pops.
  • Record the number of presses when it bursts for each color.
  • For later balloons of that color, press 1–2 clicks fewer than the smallest burst count you recorded.
  • If it still bursts, reduce further by another 1–2 presses.

Game 3: Numbers memory game (concentration/attention)

• Task: Remember a growing sequence of numbers displayed one at a time, then enter them in order. Continues until you make three mistakes in a row.
• Strategy:
  • Treat it as pure memorization.
  • Optional tactic: say each number out loud; make a mnemonic/song out of the sequence.
  • Alternative: write down as they appear (noting it may be hard due to speed).
  • Another alternative mentioned: record your screen with your phone and replay to extract numbers (but the video says not recommended because it defeats the game’s purpose).
  • Overall emphasis: try to memorize rather than rely on recording.

Game 4: “Stop” color-response game (concentration/attention)

• Task: A green or red circle flashes. Press a key for one color, do nothing for the other. Repeats 15–20 times.
• Strategy:
  • Know exactly which color requires pressing.
  • Ignore the other color(s).
  • If helpful, add a small delay to reduce accidental presses when the wrong color appears.

Game 5: Card deck gambling game (learning/decision-making)

• Task: Four decks. Drawing a card gives money gain or loss. You can draw from any deck anytime; about 30–40 total draws. Goal: maximize final money.
• Strategy:
  • Look for patterns in which decks perform better.
  • Because deck profitability changes over time, keep checking all decks.
  • Start by drawing two cards from each deck.
  • Then draw more from the deck that has given the most money so far.
  • Every 4–5 cards, sample one card from other decks to verify if they’ve become better.
  • If your main deck’s winnings start decreasing, switch attention to other decks.

Game 6: “Long/short” image comparison game (attention/decision-making)

• Task: Two nearly identical images differ slightly (e.g., mouth length). Choose the image with the specified longer or shorter feature. Repeats 15–20 times. Feedback may be missing sometimes.
• Strategy:
  • Memorize what both images look like so you can recognize the correct one quickly in each pair.
  • Focus on subtle differences; don’t expect obvious separation.
  • Once the game starts, trust your intuition for choosing.
  • Spend time improving effort likely won’t increase accuracy much—avoid over-deliberating.
  • Ignore feedback after each choice.
  • Since you may not always see confirmation, do not change strategy just because you didn’t receive a “correct” signal.

Game 7: Tower rearrangement (planning/attention)

• Task: Three towers made of stacked colored discs. Move discs one at a time to match a target tower. Fewer moves = better.
• Strategy:
  • Avoid accidental disc moves.
  • Pre-plan at least 30 seconds, but don’t plan too long (you have about 2 minutes total).
  • Decide which of the three towers becomes the final arrangement target.
  • Plan how to remove discs from that tower to place the correct discs.
  • Build the final tower from the bottom up.

Game 8: Arrows direction game (concentration/attention)

• Task: You see arrows colored red, blue, or black.

  • If blue/black: press in the direction the arrows point.
  • If red: press in the opposite direction. Repeats 15–20 times; press once per round.

• Strategy:

  • Focus on the arrow in the middle (as a primary reference).
  • If arrows are blue/black, press same direction.
  • If arrows are red, pause briefly (about a second) to ensure you compute the opposite direction before pressing.

Game 9: Task choice (easy vs difficult) (risk/effort/decision-making)

• Task: Each round offers easy vs difficult task:
  • Easy example: fewer clicks in short time.
  • Hard example: more clicks over longer time.
  • Pay is typically higher for difficult tasks.
  • Each task has a probability of winning (chance of receiving the stated money if successful).
  • Easy and hard tasks have the same winning probability each round.
  • Time limit: 2 minutes total. Aim: maximize money.
• Strategy (two approaches presented):
  • Approach 1: Prioritize by expected payoff
    • Compare payoff difference and probability of success.
    • Choose difficult if it pays much more and success probability is high.
    • Choose easy if difficult pays only slightly more and success probability is low.
  • Approach 2: Ignore probability (within the given constraint)
    • Since success probability is the same for both tasks in a round, probability doesn’t change which task is better.
    • Choose the task with the highest money per second.
    • Example: if easy pays $1 for 5 seconds and hard pays $3 for 12 seconds, pick based on which yields more dollars per second.

Game 10: Emotion identification from context (emotion assessment)

• Task: Given a person image and a paragraph of context, select the correct emotion from 10 options.
• Strategy:
  • Use the context paragraph like consultants do: start with facts.
  • Narrow down choices using the provided context.
  • Then optionally use intuition/emotions to pick among the remaining options.
  • Avoid relying only on intuition—read the paragraph first.

Game 11: Cash game 1 (fairness/generosity/risk)

• Task: You receive a starting amount. You can give some/all/none to a partner (computer). The partner receives triple what you give. Partner then may return some/all/none. You then rate perceived fairness from 1 (unfair) to 10 (fair).
• Strategy:
  • Recommend giving the partner 20–30% of your money.
  • Avoid:
    • 0% (signals low generosity/trust).
    • 100% (considered risky).
  • For fairness (as described):
    • “True fairness” implies partner returns half of the net winnings to you.
    • Example logic: if you give $2, partner gets $6. The partner should return your $2, plus half the net winnings ($4 → half is $2), totaling $4 returned.
    • If partner returns less than that, fairness rating should drop accordingly (examples: returning $3 ≈ 7–8/10; returning $2 ≈ 5/10).

Game 12: Cash game 2 (generosity/fairness)

• Task: You and partner (computer) each start with $5. In two rounds, you decide how much money to give to or take from the partner. Then you rate fairness (1–10).
• Strategy:
  • Aim for generosity and justice by making the amounts equal at the end.
  • Rule: ensure both you and partner have the same amount.
  • Example: if you receive $5, you should give partner $2.50; if partner receives $5, take $2.50 from them.
  • Following this equality approach leads to a 10/10 fairness rating (per the video).

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Where to practice (as instructed)

• Use a link provided below to find realistic simulations of all 12 BCG Pymetrics mini-games.
• Practice each game to avoid surprises on test day.

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Speakers / sources featured (as named in the subtitles)

• BCG (Boston Consulting Group) — referenced as the organization requiring the test and as the interview context.
• Pymetrics — referenced as the company partnering to create the test (behavioral science + AI).
• No individual person speakers are named in the provided subtitles.