Trail Making Test Online: Part A and Part B
The trail making test is one of the most widely used measures of processing speed and attention switching. Part A is a straight sequence — 1, 2, 3 — and measures how fast you can find and move. Part B alternates numbers and letters — 1, A, 2, B — and that alternation is the whole point: it forces you to hold two sequences at once and jump between them. The gap between your Part A and Part B times is where task-switching shows up.
Not a diagnostic tool. The trail making test has a long clinical history — standardized versions are used in dementia, MCI, brain-injury and stroke screening, with age-matched norms and trained administration. This online version has none of that: it is not validated, not normed, and it cannot screen for or diagnose any condition. It is a practice and self-tracking exercise, not a diagnostic instrument.
A quiet round of Trail Making Test — Part A. When you start, everything else fades — just you and the task.
No sign-up needed. Press Esc to exit anytime.
Tip
Search while your finger is still moving. The travel between two circles is time you are going to spend anyway. Locating the next label during that movement, rather than after the tap lands, is where the gap between a fast run and a slow one quietly accumulates.
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
- Circles are scattered across the field, each labeled with a number or a letter.
- Part A: tap them in numerical order — 1, 2, 3, and so on.
- Part B: alternate between the two sequences — 1, A, 2, B, 3, C…
- Wrong taps count against your accuracy. Finish the trail to see your time and score.
Trail Making Test tips
Ways to play it better — each one comes from how this version actually scores, not from general advice about concentration.
Search while your finger is still moving
The travel between two circles is time you are going to spend anyway. Locating the next label during that movement, rather than after the tap lands, is where the gap between a fast run and a slow one quietly accumulates.
Don't trace the trail
Nothing has to be drawn between the circles — the name comes from the paper version, where you did drag a pencil. Letting your eyes jump straight to the next label instead of following an imaginary line saves the entire detour.
Don't slow down to avoid a wrong tap
With Part A's fifteen nodes, a single wrong tap takes just over six percent off the accuracy multiplier. This test is scored speed-led, so hunting slowly for a label that is hiding usually costs more than the wrong tap would 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 the trail making test?+
A timed connect-the-sequence task. Part A measures visual search and processing speed; Part B adds an alternation rule that requires switching between two sequences, which brings executive function and attention switching into play.
What's the difference between Part A and Part B?+
Part A is numbers only. Part B alternates numbers and letters, so you have to keep two counters running and swap between them on every step. Part B is reliably slower for everyone — the interesting number is how much slower you personally get, since that difference isolates the switching cost from raw speed.
Is the trail making test the same as a task switching test?+
Part B is one of the classic ways task switching gets operationalized, so the two overlap heavily. A dedicated task-switching test usually alternates abstract rules (odd/even, then high/low); TMT Part B alternates two familiar sequences instead, which makes it far easier to explain and just as demanding to do.
Is this a medical or diagnostic test?+
No. The trail making test has a long clinical history — standardized versions are used in screening for dementia, mild cognitive impairment, traumatic brain injury, and stroke, always with age-matched norms and trained administration. This online version has none of that. It is a practice and self-tracking exercise, not validated, not normed, and it cannot screen for or diagnose any condition. If you have concerns about your cognition, talk to a professional.
Where this fits
- Processing Speed Test — Sequenced movement plus, in Part B, switching between two sequences. The gap between your Part A and Part B time isolates the cost of switching from raw speed.
Try another challenge
Finding things fast — closest to this one
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
Keeping up with change
Multiple Object Tracking · Change Blindness Test · Task Switching Test