Cube Test — The Desert Cube Personality Game, Explained Honestly
Imagine a desert, a cube, a ladder, a horse, flowers and a storm. A fun, reflective visualisation game with no scientific validation. Free in the Mindtalk app.
Clinically reviewed by Ms. Smicky Priya Das, MPhil Clinical Psychology, MA Psychology, BA Psychology. Last reviewed 2026-09-25.
What is the cube test?
The cube test is a guided visualisation game. You are asked to close your eyes and imagine a desert. Somewhere in that desert is a cube. Then, one at a time, you add a ladder, a horse, some flowers and a storm. For each object you describe what you see: how big it is, what it is made of, where it sits and how far it is from the cube.
The game is widely shared online and in books of psychological party games, and it often goes viral because the reveal is fun. Once you have described the scene, each object is given a symbolic meaning and your description is read as a reflection of your inner life.
The common symbolic readings
Versions differ, but the most widely shared readings are:
| Object | Popular reading | What people usually look at |
|---|---|---|
| Cube | How you see yourself | Size, material, transparency, whether it floats or sits in the sand |
| Ladder | Your friends | How close the ladder is to the cube, whether it leans on it |
| Horse | Your partner or ideal partner | Colour, calmness, how near it is to the cube |
| Flowers | Children or family | How many, how healthy, where they grow |
| Storm | Problems and stress in your life | Its size, whether it is near or far, whether it is passing |
For example, a large glass cube with a ladder leaning on it and a calm horse nearby would often be read as "a confident, open person with supportive friends and a steady relationship". These readings are informal folk interpretations. No research manual defines them, and there is no evidence that they tell you anything accurate about you.
How the cube test works in the Mindtalk app
In the Mindtalk app you are guided through the desert scene one object at a time and asked to describe each one in a few words. It takes about 3 minutes. The app then produces a written reflection that draws on the common symbolic readings and suggests questions you might think about, such as how supported you feel by friends or how you are handling current stress.
There is no score, no type and no cut-off. Nothing in the reflection is a clinical finding, and the result is saved privately to your account.
What the cube test can and can't tell you
What it can do: give you a light, playful way to notice how you think about yourself, your relationships and your stress. Some people find that describing the scene out loud with a friend or partner starts a surprisingly real conversation.
What it can't do: measure your personality or mental health. The cube test belongs to the broad family of projective techniques, where an ambiguous prompt is interpreted. In a detailed 2000 review of the best-studied projective tests (the Rorschach inkblot test, the Thematic Apperception Test and human figure drawings), Scott Lilienfeld and colleagues found support for only a small number of indexes, concluded that most indexes lacked empirical support, and noted that projective indexes rarely added useful information beyond standard questionnaires. The cube test has far less research behind it than those instruments: we could not find a single published study of its reliability or validity.
There is also a reason the readings feel so accurate. In 1949 the psychologist Bertram Forer gave students what looked like individual personality sketches, which were in fact the same general statements for everyone, and the students rated them as highly accurate descriptions of themselves. This became known as the Forer or Barnum effect, and it applies to cube-test readings too.
So please do not use the cube test to make decisions about yourself, a relationship or a job, and do not treat an unsettling reading (a huge storm, a distant horse) as a sign that something is wrong.
If you want a validated personality measure
If the cube test made you curious about your personality, move on to a questionnaire that has been properly studied:
- Big Five personality test measures Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism. It is the best-supported trait model in personality research.
- Introvert or extrovert test looks at where you sit on the introversion-extraversion spectrum, one of the most researched personality dimensions.
You can browse more options in the personality and identity section.
When to talk to someone
If the storm in your scene felt very close, or the exercise brought up feelings of loneliness, conflict or stress that you are already carrying, those feelings are worth taking seriously even though the game itself is not. A conversation with a counsellor can help. Read about counselling therapy at Mindtalk, or take the mental health test for a structured check-in.
Validation and evidence
The cube test is a popular game, not a psychometric instrument. It has no published development paper, scoring manual, norms, reliability data or validity studies, and Mindtalk does not claim that it measures personality. The wider evidence on projective methods is sobering: a 2000 review in Psychological Science in the Public Interest concluded that the substantial majority of Rorschach and TAT indexes are not empirically supported and that evidence for human figure drawings is even more limited. Forer's 1949 classroom demonstration showed why generic personality readings still feel personal. Mindtalk offers the cube test only as a reflective starting point and recommends validated measures for anything more.
References
How to take the Cube
- 1
Open the cube test in the Mindtalk app
Tap "Take the Cube Test" to open it in the Mindtalk app. You will need a free Mindtalk account; sign-in takes under a minute.
- 2
Picture the desert scene and describe it
Imagine a desert, then describe the cube, ladder, horse, flowers and storm as they first appear to you: size, colour, material, position and distance. Go with your first image rather than overthinking it.
- 3
Read your reflection as a prompt, not a verdict
You receive a written reflection based on the common symbolic readings. Treat it as a conversation starter about how you see yourself and your relationships, not as an accurate personality result.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the cube test?
- The cube test, sometimes called the cube in the desert test, is a visualisation game. You imagine a desert containing a cube, a ladder, a horse, flowers and a storm, describe each one, and then read the descriptions symbolically. It spread widely online and in books of psychological games, but it is not a clinical or research instrument.
- Is the cube test accurate?
- No evidence shows that it is. We could not find any published study testing its reliability or validity. The readings often feel accurate because broad, flattering statements seem personal to most people, a well-documented effect. Enjoy it as a reflective exercise, not as a measurement of who you are.
- What does the cube represent in the cube test?
- In the most common version, the cube is read as how you see yourself: its size as self-confidence, its material or transparency as how open you are, and its position as how grounded you feel. Versions differ, and none of these readings has been scientifically tested.
- What do the ladder, horse, flowers and storm mean?
- Popular readings treat the ladder as your friends, the horse as your partner or ideal partner, the flowers as children or family, and the storm as the problems in your life. Distance and position are read as closeness or threat. These are informal interpretations that vary between versions.
- Is the cube test a psychology test?
- It borrows the idea of projective testing, where you respond to an open-ended prompt and your answer is interpreted. But it has no scoring manual, norms or validation research. Psychologists would not use it to assess personality or mental health.
- Which personality test is scientifically validated?
- The Big Five (OCEAN) model has the strongest research support of any personality framework, with results that replicate across questionnaires, observers and cultures. Mindtalk's free Big Five personality test and introvert-extrovert test are better choices if you want a measure rather than a game.
Need a clinician's read on your results?
A high score is a signal, not a diagnosis. Mindtalk's psychiatrists and clinical psychologists can interpret your results and recommend next steps — same-day appointments available.