SoundaryTower Planning Test — Free 12-Problem Tower-of-London-Style Check
Check how well you plan before acting with the tower planning test. Following the Tower of London paradigm, move 3 balls across three pegs to a target layout in the fewest moves across 12 problems (60 s each); see how many you solved optimally and how long you planned. About 5 minutes, a free self-check.
What's included
- Time
- ~5 min
- Price
- Free
What it measures
This test measures the ability to work out a sequence in your head before your hands move, that is, planning. The screen shows three pegs of different heights (holding up to 3, 2 and 1 balls), red, green and blue balls, and a target layout beside them. You may move only one ball at a time, and only the top ball on a peg.
The format follows the Tower of London paradigm that Shallice (1982) devised while studying planning deficits in patients with frontal-lobe damage. Because peg capacity is limited, moving whichever ball is in front of you soon leads to a dead end; solving in the minimum moves requires reasoning backward from the goal. That is what separates planning from mere dexterity.
Soundary's version is not a commercial test form but an in-house build on the published paradigm, with its own problem set and scoring. It records both the time to your first move (planning time) and the number of moves actually made, to see how much you thought and how efficiently you executed.
How to read your score
There are 12 problems whose minimum move counts rise through 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7 and 8 (easy 2 to 3, medium 4 to 5, hard 6 to 8). Each problem has a 60-second limit; if time runs out, the moves made so far plus the remaining shortest distance are counted as excess moves. The headline metric is the number solved in the minimum moves (n/12), and the stored score is that figure as a percentage.
Solving 10 or more optimally is described as a strong ability to plan and execute, 7 to 9 as generally good, 4 to 6 as intermediate, and 3 or fewer as a sign that the planning phase may still be short. The accompanying planning time is the mean seconds to first move on the harder problems (minimum 5 or more moves). Total and mean excess moves, rule violations and timeouts are shown as well.
The report also characterizes your execution style. Planning time under 2.5 s with mean excess moves of 1.5 or more is described as hands moving ahead of thought; planning time of 5 s or more with mean excess under 1 as thinking it through and then executing precisely. A long planning time on hard problems is not a bad sign but a good strategy.
What affects the result, and how to use it
Tower tasks show fairly strong practice effects. Seeing the same problem again makes its solution easy to recall, so an improved second result is natural; a retest interval of at least 4 weeks is recommended. Fatigue, sleep loss and a rushed mindset tend to shorten planning time and increase excess moves, and on a small screen slips while dragging can be logged as rule violations.
Planning ability develops into adolescence, and with age excess moves tend to rise on the harder problems. When reading your result, the hard tier (6 to 8 minimum moves) together with planning time carries the most information. The test is a handy way to check your own style when you have started a new job or find scheduling has become a strain.
This is a self-check, not a diagnostic tool. Still, if you repeatedly solve 3 or fewer problems optimally or often run out of time even on good days, and ordering tasks or finishing things as planned has become noticeably harder in daily life, consider discussing executive function with a professional in a psychiatric or neuropsychological evaluation.
FAQ
How many of the 12 problems should I solve in the minimum moves?
The results screen describes 10 or more optimal solutions as strong planning and execution, 7 to 9 as generally good, 4 to 6 as intermediate, and 3 or fewer as a possibly short planning phase. Since minimum moves climb from 2 to 8, exceeding the minimum once or twice on the later, harder problems is common. Your first result is a pre-practice value, so compare it with a retest after 4 weeks.
I thought slowly before moving. Is a long planning time bad?
No. Planning time is the mean seconds to first move on the harder problems (minimum 5 or more moves), and being long is not a penalty in itself. Five seconds or more with mean excess moves under 1 is described as thinking it through and executing precisely. It is rushing under 2.5 s with excess moves of 1.5 or more that reads as hands ahead of thought. Just stay within the 60-second limit per problem.
Is this the same as the Tower of Hanoi or Tower of London test?
The format follows Shallice's (1982) Tower of London paradigm, but this is Soundary's own build and uses no commercial test form or norms. With pegs of capacity 3, 2 and 1 and three balls, its rules also differ from the Tower of Hanoi, where discs are stacked by size. The 12-problem set, 60-second limit and scoring are our own design, so results cannot be compared directly with clinical test scores.
How can I improve my planning ability?
The most effective strategy in this task is to reason backward from the target layout. Picturing which ball will be placed last, and which peg has to be cleared for it to get there, cuts excess moves. In daily life, the habit of jotting down the order of steps before starting a job exercises the same muscle. Bear in mind that a rising test score may reflect practice rather than true improvement, so keep the two apart.
Source
This task is based on the paradigm from: Shallice, T. (1982). Specific impairments of planning. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, 298(1089), 199–209. This task is a Soundary implementation based on a published academic paradigm. It is not any commercial test product or its test form.
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This is a self-screening tool, not a medical diagnosis. If the result concerns you, please consult a mental health professional.