Multiple Object Tracking Test: How Many Can You Follow?
Multiple object tracking is the cognitive-science paradigm for divided visual attention: a handful of dots are marked as targets, then every dot starts drifting and they all look identical. Your job is to keep the targets in mind without being able to tell them apart by sight. Most people manage about four. Play the MOT test online free, and get an instant score that already subtracts the credit you'd get from guessing.
A quiet round of Multiple Object Tracking — 3 targets. When you start, everything else fades — just you and the task.
No sign-up needed. Press Esc to exit anytime.
Tip
Track one shape, not separate dots. Holding each target as its own object competes for the same limited capacity. Holding them as the corners of one polygon is a single thing to keep in mind instead — it stretches and folds as they drift, and you follow the deformation.
Everything here is free
Every test, every difficulty, no limit and no account. If it is useful to you, you can chip in — entirely optional, and nothing changes either way.
How to play
- A few dots light up — those are your targets. Take them in.
- The highlight disappears and every dot starts moving. Now they're indistinguishable.
- Track your targets with your attention, not your eyes — you can't follow several at once by looking.
- When everything freezes, tap the dots you were tracking. Five rounds, then you get your score.
Multiple Object Tracking tips
Ways to play it better — each one comes from how this version actually scores, not from general advice about concentration.
Track one shape, not separate dots
Holding each target as its own object competes for the same limited capacity. Holding them as the corners of one polygon is a single thing to keep in mind instead — it stretches and folds as they drift, and you follow the deformation.
Your eyes can only be in one place
Chasing one target with your gaze guarantees the rest drop out of the set you are holding, and those are the ones you will get wrong. Park your eyes near the middle and let the whole set arrive peripherally.
Losing one does not lose the round
The score is the proportion you recovered with the credit from guessing already subtracted, so getting all but one still counts for something while giving up counts for nothing. When a target slips, hold on to the ones you still have.
One caveat worth knowing: a change of strategy moves your score for reasons that have nothing to do with attention. Your dashboard reads each session against your own recent ones, so if you adopt something from this list, give it a few sessions before reading anything into the trend.
Frequently asked questions
What is multiple object tracking?+
It's a task from attention research: several identical items move around and you have to keep track of which ones were marked as targets. Because the items look the same, you can't rely on recognizing them — you have to hold several moving locations in attention at the same time.
How many objects can a person track at once?+
Research consistently lands around four for most people, and it drops as the objects move faster or get more crowded. That's why this test starts at three targets and goes up: the point isn't to succeed every round, it's to find where your limit actually is.
How is the score calculated?+
Your score subtracts what pure guessing would earn. With three targets among eight dots, picking at random already gets you about 38% of the targets right, so raw accuracy would flatter you. The score maps guessing to 0 and a perfect session to 100, and each difficulty is scaled separately — so a flawless three-target session can score just as high as a flawless five-target one.
Does the timer affect my score?+
No. Unlike the Schulte Table or Visual Search, MOT runs on a fixed clock — the tracking phase lasts as long as it lasts, and you can't finish faster. Only your tracking accuracy counts. The time shown on the result card is just how long the session took.
Does this test require motion?+
Yes, unavoidably — the movement is the task. If moving visuals are a problem for you, the Schulte Table, Stroop, and Visual Search tests here are all completely static.
Is MOT the same as a sports vision drill?+
It's the paradigm a lot of those drills are built on — tracking several players or balls at once is the everyday version of it. This is a focus-training exercise, though, not a clinical or diagnostic assessment.
Where this fits
- Attention Span Test — Divided attention. Several identical dots move at once and you have to hold a subset in mind without being able to tell them apart by sight.
Try another challenge
Keeping up with change — closest to this one
Finding things fast
Schulte Table · Visual Search · Cancellation Task · Trail Making Test
Holding a rule under pressure
Stroop Test · Simon Effect Test · Flanker Test · Go/No-Go Task
Staying with it
Sustained Attention to Response Task · Mackworth Clock Test · Psychomotor Vigilance Task