🔗Trail Making Test

How quickly can you connect a scattered sequence—and switch between two sequences at once?

Take this free Trail Making Test to challenge visual search, sequencing, and cognitive flexibility. Circles containing numbers—or numbers and letters—are scattered across the screen, and your job is to connect them in the correct order as quickly as possible.

Choose Part A to connect numbers in ascending order, or Part B to alternate between numbers and letters.

How to Take the Trail Making Test

1. 1Choose Part A or Part B.
2. 2Press Start Test.
3. 3In Part A, click the circles in order: 1, 2, 3, and so on.
4. 4In Part B, alternate between numbers and letters: 1, A, 2, B, 3, C, and so on.
5. 5If you click the wrong circle, keep going—the mistake is recorded.
6. 6Finish when you connect the final circle in the sequence.
7. 7Review your completion time and error count.

The circles are scattered at different positions each time, so you cannot memorize a fixed layout.

What Is the Trail Making Test?

The Trail Making Test (TMT) is a well-known neuropsychological task that has been used in clinical and research settings for decades. It has two parts.

Part A

Part A asks you to connect numbered circles in ascending order: 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 →, and so on. It primarily measures visual search speed and processing speed.

Part B

Part B asks you to alternate between two sequences—numbers and letters—switching back and forth: 1 → A → 2 → B → 3 → C →, and so on.

Part B adds a task-switching demand on top of the visual search required by Part A, which is why it typically takes noticeably longer to complete.

This online version is best treated as an informal cognitive-flexibility and processing-speed challenge, not a clinical neuropsychological assessment.

What Does the Trail Making Test Measure?

Your completion time and errors reflect several overlapping abilities.

Visual Search

You must scan the scattered layout to locate the next circle you need.

Processing Speed

How quickly you can perceive, decide, and act on each target contributes directly to your total time.

Cognitive Flexibility (Part B only)

Alternating between numbers and letters requires you to hold two ongoing sequences in mind and switch between them without losing track of either one.

Visual-Motor Speed

As with any click-based task, your device, input method, and motor speed also influence your final time.

Why Is Part B Slower Than Part A?

Part B is not simply “Part A with more items.” It introduces a genuine switching cost.

Each time you move from a number to a letter (or a letter to a number), you must briefly disengage from one sequence and re-engage with the other. That mental switch takes measurable time, even when you know both sequences well.

This is why researchers and clinicians often look at the difference between Part B and Part A time rather than Part B time alone—it can help separate general processing speed from the added cost of switching.

On this informal test, you can make the same comparison for your own curiosity, but do not treat the gap as a clinical measurement.

What Is a Good Trail Making Test Time?

There is no single validated online benchmark for a “good” Trail Making time, and published clinical norms are tied to standardized paper-and-pencil administration, age ranges, and testing conditions that this browser version does not replicate.

Your result can depend on:

• ✓screen size and circle spacing;
• ✓mouse versus touchscreen input;
• ✓whether mistakes are penalized;
• ✓how the circles are scattered in that particular run;
• ✓previous practice with the layout;
• ✓and general alertness and fatigue.

The most meaningful benchmark is your own performance over time, tracked separately for Part A and Part B.

Why Errors Matter

A fast time with many mistakes is not necessarily a stronger result than a slightly slower, clean run.

In Part B especially, errors often reveal a lost place in the sequence—clicking the wrong type of circle because you forgot whether a number or a letter came next. Watching your error count alongside your time gives a fuller picture of your performance than time alone.

Trail Making Test vs. Schulte Table

Both tasks involve finding items in sequence, but the demands differ.

The Schulte Table Test uses a fixed grid with numbers placed inside equally sized cells, testing visual search within a compact, structured layout.

The Trail Making Test scatters circles across an open field, and Part B adds the alternating-sequence switching demand that a Schulte table does not include.

Use the Schulte Table when you want a compact grid-search challenge. Use the Trail Making Test when you want a scattered-search task, especially if you want to include the Part B switching challenge.

How to Improve Your Trail Making Time

Start with Part A until you can complete it cleanly and consistently, then move to Part B.

During a run:

• ✓scan efficiently rather than searching corner to corner every time;
• ✓in Part B, say the next target to yourself before searching for it;
• ✓avoid unnecessary cursor movement between clicks;
• ✓do not restart after a single mistake—finish the sequence;
• ✓and compare several runs rather than judging yourself on one attempt.

Short, focused sessions are more useful than long repeated runs while fatigued.

Does This Test Diagnose a Cognitive Condition?

No. The Trail Making Test is used in some clinical settings, but a browser-based version without standardized administration, norms, or professional interpretation cannot diagnose any cognitive condition.

Many everyday factors—screen setup, input device, sleep, stress, and practice—can affect your result. If you have genuine concerns about cognitive function, memory, or processing speed, speak with a qualified healthcare professional who can arrange proper assessment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Try the Trail Making Test Again

For useful progress tracking, test Part A and Part B separately and compare each against your own past attempts rather than against a universal benchmark.

The goal is not just raw speed—it is efficient scanning, accurate sequencing, and, in Part B, smooth switching between two sequences at once.