Lateral Thinking
Lateral thinking is the skill of abandoning common sense and trying the unexpected, silly, or literal answer.
What is this skill?
- Lateral-thinking puzzles have an answer that makes sense only if you step outside normal logic. The "wrong" idea is the right one.
- In Brain Test, this means doing something absurd — like treating a word as a real object or combining things that should not fit together.
How to recognize it
- Every reasonable, real-world solution fails completely.
- The puzzle has a humorous or silly tone that hints at an absurd answer.
- The question can be answered literally, even though that feels wrong.
Common tricks
- You must ignore what is "possible in real life" and do the silly thing.
- The answer treats the question text or a word as the literal object.
- There is often no real constraint — you simply choose the unexpected action.
Popular levels
A few real levels from the Brain Test series that lean on this skill.
All levels
Every Brain Test level we have solved that trains this skill (248 in total).
Level 2 How to blossom this flower?
Brain Test
Level 3 Put the elephant into the fridge.
Brain Test
Level 4 Which one is closest to us?
Brain Test
Level 6 I overtook the 2nd placed racer. what is my position?
Brain Test
Level 7 Slide left to unlock
Brain Test
Level 8 Feed the cat please, he is hungry!
Brain Test
Level 11 Which one is longest?
Brain Test
Level 18 How many months have 28 days?
Brain Test
Level 20 Where is the black sheep?
Brain Test
Level 21 What is the last letter in spelling?
Brain Test
Level 36 Where is the cat above this text?
Brain Test
Level 40 We must be ready before the guests arrive!
Brain Test
Level 49 Make the red win the race.
Brain Test
Level 50 Burn everything!
Brain Test
Level 54 Pick the red color!
Brain Test
Level 59 Help me achieve victory!
Brain Test
About this skill — Frequently Asked Questions
What does Lateral Thinking mean in Brain Test?
Lateral Thinking is one of the core thinking abilities Brain Test quietly measures. A level that trains it asks you to use this exact way of thinking instead of the obvious, real-world habit — which is why the answer feels surprising until you see it.
How do I get better at Lateral Thinking puzzles?
Slow down and read the question literally, watch what changes on screen, and try the action that breaks common sense. The walkthroughs in this section show the exact steps for real levels.
Which Brain Test games train Lateral Thinking?
All Brain Test games include Lateral Thinking moments. We list every level we have solved that builds this skill, and we keep adding more as we cover the series.