McKinsey Solve Prep
Matrix Reasoning Practice for the McKinsey Solve Test
McKinsey's Solve assessment isn't a traditional matrix reasoning test, but pattern-recognition speed is the underlying skill it scores. Practice with a 10-question free test built around the same visual-logic families that Solve sub-puzzles use.
McKinsey Solve preparation
The real McKinsey Solve
The publisher does not publish a question count or a time limit for this assessment, so there is nothing here to state and we state nothing.
Our practice is independent and uses our own question bank. It is not an official McKinsey Solve test, it does not use real McKinsey Solve questions, and we are not affiliated with the publisher.
What we do not copy
- the game-based format itself
- branching between scenarios
- everything except the underlying pattern-recognition skill
Sources
- McKinsey Solve is a multi-game branching assessment. Matrix reasoning is one of the skills underneath it, not its format, and no comparable envelope is published.Our own format audit, read 14 September 2026.
- McKinsey publishes no single length for Solve: the length of each candidate's assessment is outlined in the invitation email, and every task opens with an untimed tutorial.Publisher documentation, read 29 September 2026.
Be clear: McKinsey Solve is a game-based test, not a matrix reasoning test, so it is not very similar in format. But it scores the same underlying skill — fast pattern recognition. So this practice still helps. Build the skill with the free untimed test, then use McKinsey's own sample games to learn the Solve format.
About the real McKinsey assessment
What the real McKinsey test looks like
The format details below describe the actual McKinsey assessment as published by McKinsey. Our practice test above is independent and uses our own question bank.
McKinsey & Company uses the Solve assessment (formerly the Problem Solving Game, and before that the McKinsey Digital Assessment) — a gamified, branching, scenario-based test. Solve is not a traditional 3×3 matrix reasoning test, but the pattern-recognition speed and rule-identification skills required to do well on Solve are the same skills that matrix reasoning practice trains directly.
Test format
A set of game-based tasks, each opening with an untimed tutorial that explains the task's objective and how to navigate it. McKinsey does not publish a single length: its Solve FAQ says the length of your assessment is outlined in your invitation email.
Skills scored
Pattern recognition, hypothesis testing, sequencing under time pressure, and interpreting unfamiliar data quickly. Rule identification across visual scenarios — exactly the skill matrix reasoning trains.
Matrix-style sub-puzzles
Several Solve sub-games include visual sequence puzzles where matrix reasoning skill transfers directly. Candidates who practise matrix reasoning approach Solve with stronger pattern-recognition stamina.
Scoring
McKinsey publishes no pass rate or cut score. Its Solve FAQ says the results are considered together with the rest of your application and any other assessment results, not on their own.
When you encounter Solve
Solve is typically a screening step before the first-round case interview. It is taken online, unproctored, within a deadline window after the application.
Skills being tested
What this practice trains
- Visual pattern recognition
- Rule identification under unfamiliar formats
- Logical sequencing
- Hypothesis testing
- Sustained concentration across a long, game-based assessment
Common mistakes
The four most common ways candidates underperform
- 1
Treating Solve like a multiple-choice test
Solve is interactive, branching, and feedback-light. Memorising answer patterns from leaked practice questions is far less useful than building general pattern-recognition speed that transfers across unfamiliar formats.
- 2
Over-preparing for one mini-game
Some candidates focus heavily on the Mosaic or Ecosystem game and underprepare for the others. McKinsey scores the assessment across all games combined — uniform preparation beats specialisation.
- 3
Ignoring the underlying skill
Solve's Ecosystem game asks you to identify interaction rules between species — fundamentally the same skill as identifying transformation rules across matrix cells. Candidates who train matrix reasoning first arrive at Solve with the underlying skill already well practised.
- 4
Cramming the night before
Solve is cognitively demanding, and McKinsey itself says no preparation is needed for the games, each of which opens with a tutorial. A calm, well-rested attempt beats an all-night session; if you practise anything, practise the underlying pattern skill in short sessions over the days before.
How to improve
The most efficient preparation path
The most efficient first step is building pattern-recognition speed with matrix reasoning practice — the visual-logic skill transfers directly to Solve's matrix-style sub-puzzles and to its rule-identification scenarios. Take the free practice test, study the patterns you missed, then move on to McKinsey-provided Solve sample games once the underlying skill is fluent.
Full aptitude batteries usually include numerical and verbal reasoning sections alongside the abstract questions. If your assessment covers those too, you can practise free numerical reasoning and free verbal reasoning on our sister sites.
Frequently asked
McKinsey test FAQ
- What is the McKinsey Solve assessment?
- Solve is McKinsey & Company's gamified online assessment, used as a screening step before first-round case interviews. It is made of game-based tasks, each opening with an untimed tutorial, and McKinsey states its length in your invitation rather than publishing one. McKinsey considers the result together with the rest of your application when deciding whether to invite you to the first interview round.
- Does McKinsey use matrix reasoning questions?
- McKinsey Solve is not framed as a matrix reasoning test, but several Solve sub-games include visual pattern sequences where matrix reasoning practice transfers directly. The underlying skill — rapid identification of transformation rules across visual elements — is the same skill matrix reasoning trains.
- How should I prepare for McKinsey Solve?
- Build pattern-recognition stamina with matrix reasoning practice first, then move on to McKinsey-provided sample games to learn the specific Solve format. Matrix reasoning is the most efficient first step because it isolates and trains the core skill in a controlled, repeatable format.
- How difficult is the McKinsey Solve test?
- The mini-games are unfamiliar formats with branching decisions and limited feedback, which makes the assessment cognitively heavy even when individual decisions are not technically difficult.
- What is the McKinsey Solve pass rate?
- McKinsey does not publish a pass rate or a cut score. Its Solve FAQ says the results are considered together with the rest of your application and any other assessment results, so there is no single mark to aim for, and pass-rate figures quoted elsewhere are estimates rather than McKinsey's numbers.
- Is McKinsey Solve the same as the McKinsey PSG?
- Yes. Solve is the current name for what McKinsey used to call the Problem Solving Game (PSG). The mini-game line-up has been refined since the original PSG release, but the underlying skill assessment is similar.
- How long does the McKinsey Solve test take?
- McKinsey does not publish one length. Its Solve FAQ says the length of your assessment is outlined in your invitation email, and that each task begins with an untimed tutorial. Plan for a time slot where you will not be disturbed and can finish without interruptions.
- What is the difference between SHL Inductive Reasoning and McKinsey Solve?
- SHL's Verify Interactive Inductive Reasoning is an adaptive test of up to 15 questions in 18 minutes: narrow, language-free, time-pressured. McKinsey Solve is a custom gamified assessment with branching scenarios and limited feedback, and McKinsey sets its length in each invitation rather than publishing one. Many candidates face both: SHL at a graduate-screening stage and Solve at the McKinsey-specific stage. Both reward the same underlying pattern-recognition skill.
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Practice for Aon's scales ix (cut-e) inductive reasoning test with free timed odd-one-out practice in the same format.
Matrigma
Practice for the Matrigma test (Hogan Assessments) with a free 12-question, 15-minute provider-style mock.
Get notified
A Solve preparation playbook is coming
A McKinsey Solve preparation playbook is in production. In the meantime, build the underlying pattern-recognition skill with the free test and the Matrigma-style mock. Email signup will open here when the playbook launches.
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Practise the skill, then add time pressure
Start with the free untimed test to learn at your own pace. Then take the Matrigma-style timed mock to practise the same matrix format under pressure.