How long does the Tower Planning Test take?
About 6 to 9 minutes, as listed in the test library.
Executive Function
Tower Planning Test
Measure planning with Tower of London puzzles in which participants move balls between pegs to match a goal in the fewest moves.
Useful for executive-function, planning, aging, education, and rehabilitation research batteries.
Free to start: 10 free participants per account, then $0.99 per participant for academic research, or any yearly plan. Preview any test free after you sign up.
Executive function6-9 minUntimed
Goal
Moves and time scored
Move balls to match the goal
What this task measures
Measures planning with Tower of London puzzles. Participants move three balls between pegs to match a goal in as few moves as possible.
Core constructs
- Planning
- Problem solving
- Executive function
- Look-ahead
Research fit
- Executive-function research
- Neurological and frontal-systems research
- Aging and development studies
- Within-study group comparison
Paradigm overview
Tower Planning measures planning with Tower of London puzzles (Shallice, 1982). Three pegs hold up to 3, 2 and 1 balls, and three colored balls start in one arrangement. Participants move one ball at a time, by clicking or tapping, until their board matches the goal shown beside it. Only legal moves are accepted: a ball comes off the top of a peg and goes onto a peg with space.
The test uses a fixed set of 20 puzzles, 5 at each minimum of 2, 3, 4 and 5 moves, found by a breadth-first search over all 36 arrangements. A study uses the first puzzles at each level, easiest first. Each puzzle shows its minimum number of moves and ends when the goal is reached, when twice the minimum plus two moves have been used, or after 2 minutes. Two practice puzzles come first.
Scores include puzzles solved, puzzles solved in the minimum number of moves, excess moves (an unsolved puzzle counts as using the full move limit), planning time before the first move, total and mean time per puzzle, blocked moves onto a full peg, and timeouts. Each puzzle is checked by replaying its recorded moves.
Key scoring outputs
Excess Moves
movesMoves above the minimum, summed over puzzles. An unsolved puzzle counts as using the full move limit.
Lower is better
Puzzles Solved
countPuzzles brought to the goal within the move and time limits.
Higher is better
Solved in Minimum Moves
countPuzzles solved with no extra moves.
Higher is better
Planning Time
msMean time from the puzzle appearing to picking up the first ball.
Informational
Mean Puzzle Time
msMean time from the puzzle appearing to its end. totalTime gives the sum over puzzles.
Informational
Blocked Moves
countAttempts to put a ball on a full peg. The interface refuses these moves.
Lower is better
Timeouts
countPuzzles ended by the 2-minute limit.
Lower is better
Task design as built
The trial sequence participants see, as the test runs in ConductCognition. Settings a researcher can change are listed below.
- Board
- Three pegs that hold 3, 2 and 1 balls, and three colored balls.
- Moves
- Click or tap a peg to pick up its top ball, then a peg to put it down. Only legal moves are accepted.
- Puzzles
- A fixed set of 20, five each needing at least 2, 3, 4 and 5 moves, run easiest first.
- Limits
- Each puzzle ends at the goal, after twice the minimum plus two moves, or after 2 minutes.
- Practice
- Two puzzles with feedback.
- Input
- Mouse, touch or keyboard.
Participants make the moves in this test. In the One-Touch Tower Planning test they judge the minimum number of moves without moving the balls. One-Touch Tower Planning Task
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Number of puzzles | 12 | 8 to 20 |
Yearly plans can change settings within these limits. Free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Need a setting this test does not have?
Devices and languages
- Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. Participant devices
- Task text: English and Italian.
- Available on: Every plan, including the free plan.
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Cite this test
ConductCognition versions: task version 2.0.0, scoring version 2.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Shallice, T. (1982). Specific impairments of planning. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B, 298(1089), 199-209. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1982.0082
Source papers
Shallice (1982): the Tower of London planning task, with pegs holding 3, 2 and 1 balls.
Paradigm sourceAdults
Research FAQ
Common questions about this online cognitive test
What device does a participant need?
Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. The browser must be Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
What scores does it produce?
Excess Moves, Puzzles Solved, Solved in Minimum Moves, Planning Time, Mean Puzzle Time, Blocked Moves and Timeouts. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
Which settings can a researcher change?
Number of puzzles (8 to 20). Settings can be changed on yearly plans; free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Which languages can participants use?
The test's own text is in English and Italian. Italian participant pages come with yearly plans.
Is this a clinical test?
No. ConductCognition is for research use only. It runs, scores and exports the test; clinical interpretation is outside the platform.
Every test: the full test list.
Run this test in your next study
Start free with 10 free participants on any test, then use participant credits or a yearly plan.