Keywords
Puzzles, Game, Conspiracy

Technologies
Flutter, XCode, Testflight

This study evaluated the development and selection of bite-sized reasoning puzzles for a mobile game designed to support critical thinking about conspiracy theories. The puzzles simulated features of contemporary information environments, presenting short scenarios in which users evaluated competing explanations. Each puzzle targeted reasoning skills relevant to conspiracy belief, including simpler explanations, source evaluation, corroborating evidence, and lateral reading.

An online study with over 200 participants assessed an initial 10-puzzle set. Participants completed the puzzles followed by the Critical Thinking About Conspiracies (CTAC) assessment. Reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and correlational and regression analyses were used to evaluate puzzle performance.

Results indicated that the puzzles did not form a highly homogeneous psychometric scale, reflecting the varied reasoning processes they were designed to capture. However, puzzle performance showed a meaningful positive relationship with CTAC scores. Based on these findings, a refined 7-puzzle set was retained for use in the final intervention.