Arctic Shores assessment 2026: game-based tests explained

Published 1 May 2026 · Updated 3 September 2026 · 13 min read · UK gamified assessment provider

Is there a free Arctic Shores practice test?

Not from Arctic Shores itself as a standalone, publicly available product — unlike some psychometric publishers, Arctic Shores doesn't sell a generic practice pack you can buy independently of an actual job application. What Arctic Shores does provide is a short, free practice round built directly into the real assessment flow: before your actual timed games begin, candidates who receive a genuine invitation get a brief, ungamified walkthrough of the mechanics for whichever game they're about to play, specifically so the format itself doesn't cost you time or accuracy on the real thing. If you're searching for a free practice test before you've received an invitation, the honest answer is that no official one exists yet — the practice round only unlocks once you're actually in the assessment flow. What you can do in the meantime is study exactly how each game works (covered in detail below) so the mechanics themselves aren't a surprise, even without a working demo to click through.

Arctic Shores builds neuroscience-based games that measure cognitive ability and behavioural traits without asking direct questions. Where traditional tests ask "do you take risks at work?", Arctic Shores puts you in a game where you can choose risky or safe paths and measures what you actually do. Employers like this format because it's harder to game and reduces socially-desirable answering bias.

The trade-off for candidates: it's also harder to prepare for. There are no obvious "right answers." But the games measure specific traits that align with role profiles, and once you understand what each game measures, you can make conscious choices that align with your target role.

The Arctic Shores game library

Cosmic Cadet (general behavioural)

Arctic Shores' flagship general assessment. ~30 minutes. You play a space cadet completing missions. Six mini-games inside Cosmic Cadet measure different traits: risk tolerance, attention to detail, learning agility, resilience, social orientation, and emotional recognition. Used by Deloitte, PwC (legacy), and Capgemini for general graduate screening.

Energy Sparks (numerical + behavioural)

Combines basic numerical reasoning (~15 minutes) with behavioural mini-games. You allocate energy resources across a city while answering quick maths puzzles. Tests numerical fluency and decision-making under simultaneous task load. Used in roles requiring quantitative judgement.

Numerical Nexus (pure numerical)

The dedicated numerical assessment. Quick arithmetic, percentage and ratio puzzles, data interpretation in game form. ~20 minutes. Used as a numerical-specific module bolted onto Cosmic Cadet for finance and analytics roles.

Skyrise City (resilience focused)

You build a city while facing setbacks (storms, supply chain failures). Measures persistence, recovery from failure, and adaptability. Used for roles in operations, project management, and sales.

Traits Arctic Shores measures

Companies using Arctic Shores

Deloitte uses Arctic Shores Cosmic Cadet for some early-careers programmes (especially in the UK and parts of EMEA), although the immersive Cappfinity assessment is more common. PwC previously used Arctic Shores ("Career Unlock") but moved to SHL in 2025. HSBC uses Arctic Shores for analyst roles. Accenture, Capgemini, BAE Systems, Ocado Group, and RBS all use Arctic Shores in various pipelines. Always confirm via your invitation email which assessment you're facing.

Are there "right answers" in Arctic Shores?

Sort of. The games don't have correct answers in the maths-test sense, but employers configure trait targets based on the role. A graduate consulting role might value high learning agility, moderate risk tolerance, and high social orientation. A trading or commercial role might value high risk tolerance and high resilience. An audit role might value high attention to detail and low risk tolerance.

You won't know the exact targets, but you can infer from the role description. If the job emphasises "fast-paced, ambiguous environments," lean into risk tolerance and learning agility. If it emphasises "precision and quality," lean into attention to detail and lower risk tolerance.

How Arctic Shores is scored, and what happens after

Rather than a single pass/fail number, each game produces scores across the specific traits it measures, and those trait scores are compared against a benchmark group — either a general population norm or, more commonly for employer use, a norm group built from existing successful employees in a similar role. Arctic Shores calls this a "success profile": a pattern of trait scores associated with people who perform well in the specific role being hired for, built by the employer (often with Arctic Shores' help) before the assessment goes live to candidates.

Your result isn't a raw score you'll typically see directly — most employers receive a fit percentage or a shortlist recommendation rather than handing candidates a numeric breakdown the way a traditional aptitude test might. If you want feedback on your own performance, that has to come through the employer or recruiter directly, since Arctic Shores itself doesn't operate a candidate-facing results portal the way some other providers do. What happens after typically mirrors any other screening stage: a strong fit against the success profile moves you to the next stage (interview, assessment centre, or further testing), while a weak fit usually means no further contact, sometimes with generic feedback and sometimes with none at all, depending on the employer's own process.

Can you retake an Arctic Shores assessment?

Generally not for the same application. Like most pre-employment assessments, Arctic Shores games are designed to be taken once per application cycle, and most employers explicitly disallow retakes within the same hiring round — partly because the trait-based scoring model assumes a single, natural playthrough rather than a rehearsed one, and repeated attempts could distort what the games are actually measuring. If your specific invitation doesn't mention retake rules explicitly, treat your first attempt as the only one that counts and prepare accordingly, rather than assuming you'll get a second try if something goes wrong.

That said, a genuinely different application to the same employer at a later date — a different role, or a future hiring cycle — will typically involve a fresh assessment, since Arctic Shores doesn't generally reuse a candidate's historical result across unrelated applications. If you're unsure whether a specific situation counts as a retake or a fresh assessment, checking directly with the recruiter or hiring contact is the most reliable way to know for certain rather than guessing.

Preparation strategy

Take the official practice round. Arctic Shores provides a free 5-minute trial that demonstrates the game mechanics. Use it to get past the "what is this?" phase before the real test.

Match traits to role. Read the role description and identify the 2-3 most-emphasised traits. Lean into those during gameplay. Don't fake what you don't have, but if you genuinely have multiple modes, choose the mode that fits.

Stay consistent. The system flags candidates whose answers contradict each other (e.g., risk-seeking in one game, risk-averse in another). Pick a coherent persona and play it.

Treat it like a real test environment. Quiet room, no interruptions, full battery, stable connection. The games measure reaction time and consistency — being interrupted skews results.