How Many Gold Stars Do You See? The Answer Is 22

The answer is 22 gold stars.

Count them row by row, top to bottom: 6 in the first row, 4 in the second, 7 in the third, and 5 in the bottom row. 6 + 4 + 7 + 5 = 22.

Running total check: after row one you’re at 6, after row two you’re at 10, after row three you’re at 17 — and that’s exactly where most people stop, because 17 feels finished. It isn’t. The bottom row’s 5 stars take it to 22. The rows aren’t even and they aren’t symmetrical on purpose: if you tried to guess the pattern instead of counting the stars, the pattern guessed wrong.

Did you land on 22, or did the third row trick you into stopping at 17? Be honest in the comments — and watch our page for tomorrow’s counting game.