Pattern Recognition2 min read

How to play Outlier

All the pictures but one follow the same rule. Click the one that is different.

Goal

Find the one figure that breaks the rule the other figures share.

You are shown five or six figures. All but one follow the same hidden rule.
Click the odd one out.
Rules start simple (all the same colour) and grow into relationships (number of shapes equals size) and arithmetic (total sides).
The explanation states the rule and checks every figure against it.
On Expert, each puzzle has a 90-second countdown.

Five shapes are blue and one is red: the red one is the odd one out.

Harder rounds hide the rule better, for example every shape except one has an even number of sides.

Check the obvious properties first: colour, shape, size, fill and count.
On Medium the rule can be "this or that": every figure but one is, say, teal or large.
If five figures share nothing obvious, look for relationships between properties.
Try arithmetic on the sides: sides per shape multiplied by the number of shapes.
Odd and even can be the rule too.
On Easy and Medium, a hint fades two figures that fit the rule.

Every correct answer is worth 100 points, scaled by difficulty (Easy ×0.8, Medium ×1, Hard ×1.3, Expert ×1.6).
Answering within 3 seconds adds a 25-point speed bonus.
Each answer in a row adds a 15-point streak bonus, up to 10 in a row.
Using a hint halves the points for that answer and skips the bonuses. Hints are only available on Easy and Medium.
Your score, streak and achievements are saved to your account when the game ends.

Classic

A fixed number of rounds, then a results screen.

Endless

Keep playing until you press Quit.

Time Attack

Fit in as many rounds as you can before the clock runs out.

Survival

Play until you run out of lives or make the game-ending mistake.