You're staring at your phone screen. There's a cat. There's a plate. There are some fish. It seems like the most straightforward task in the world, right? But if you're like millions of other players who have downloaded Unico Studio's hit puzzle game, you’ve probably realized that Brain Test Level 8 isn’t interested in your logic. It wants to mess with you.
Honestly, the brilliance of Brain Test lies in its deception. Most mobile games train us to follow a certain set of rules—swipe here, tap there, match three items. But this game? It actively punishes you for thinking "inside the box." Level 8 is the first real gatekeeper. It's the moment where the game looks you in the eye and says, "Stop trying so hard to be smart."
What’s actually happening on the screen?
On the surface, the prompt is simple: "Feed the cat, he is hungry." You see a cat sitting on the right side of the screen. On the left, there's a plate and some fish. Naturally, your instinct is to drag the fish to the cat. You try it. Nothing happens. You try dragging the cat to the fish. Still nothing. You might even try tapping the cat repeatedly, thinking he needs a "wake-up call" before he eats.
The frustration is real.
See, the developers at Unico Studio are masters of "lateral thinking" puzzles. This isn't a test of your IQ in the traditional sense. It's not about math or spatial awareness. It’s about understanding that the game environment is interactive in ways you don’t expect. In Brain Test Level 8, the solution isn't about moving the items to the cat; it's about moving the cat to the items, but with a specific twist that most people overlook because they are focused on the "game logic" instead of the physical reality of the screen.
The psychology of the "First Wall"
In game design, we call this a "friction point." Level 8 serves a very specific purpose in the user journey. Up until this point, the levels are fairly introductory. They teach you that the game is quirky. But Level 8 is designed to make you fail at least twice.
Why? Because failure creates engagement. When you finally figure out the solution—which involves realizing that the "plate" isn't just a background image—you get a hit of dopamine that is significantly stronger than if the puzzle had been easy. It’s the "Aha!" moment. Research into mobile gaming behavior shows that puzzles requiring "outside the box" interaction have higher retention rates. You feel clever because you "beat" the developer.
But let’s talk about the actual solution for a second. You have to take the fish and put them on the plate. But wait—that's not quite it. You actually need to bring the cat to the food. But the cat won't move if you just swipe him. You have to understand that the "food" isn't ready.
Wait. Let's look closer.
The actual trick to Brain Test Level 8 is realizing that the cat cannot reach the fish because they are on the other side of a gap or simply out of reach. You have to literally place the fish on the cat’s "spot." Or, more accurately, you need to realize that the word "cat" in the instructions or the actual cat character can be manipulated. In this specific level, the secret is placing the fish on the word "cat" or dragging the fish to the cat's mouth. But some versions of the game have shifted this. The most consistent solution? Put the fish on the plate, and then the cat will come. Wait, no. That's too simple.
Actually, the real kicker for Level 8—and what makes people search for it so often—is that you have to put the fish on the word "cat" in some versions, or simply realize that the cat is a bit of a diva. In the standard current version, you just need to drag the fish to the cat. But people fail because they try to drag the plate. They try to move the background. The game is testing your precision and your willingness to ignore the plate entirely.
Why Brain Test is different from Sudoku or Crosswords
If you’re playing a crossword, the rules are fixed. A five-letter word for "feline" is "tiger" or "tabby." There’s no trick. Brain Test isn't a knowledge test. It’s a "paradigm shift" test.
Psychologists often refer to this as "Functional Fixedness." This is a cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used. In Brain Test Level 8, functional fixedness makes you think the "plate" is a destination. In reality, the plate is often just a distraction. The game wants you to interact with the entities directly.
I’ve seen people spend ten minutes on this level. Ten minutes! On a cat feeding puzzle. It sounds ridiculous until you’re the one doing it. You start questioning everything. Is the cat a dog in disguise? Do I need to shake my phone? (Actually, shaking the phone is a solution for later levels, which only adds to the confusion).
Common Mistakes Players Make
- Tapping instead of dragging: People think the fish needs to be "selected."
- Overthinking the plate: The plate is a red herring. It’s there to make you think there’s a process.
- Ignoring the prompt: Sometimes the hint is in the text itself. In some levels of Brain Test, the text is interactive. While Level 8 focuses on the cat and the fish, it prepares you for later stages where you have to move the words of the question to solve the puzzle.
Basically, the game is training you to be a rebel.
The broader impact of "Brain Training" apps
There is a huge debate in the scientific community about whether games like Brain Test actually make you smarter. Dr. Bobby Stojanoski and his team at Western University conducted one of the largest studies on brain training and concluded that these games don't necessarily improve general cognitive ability.
However, they do improve your ability to solve the specific types of puzzles found in the game. So, solving Brain Test Level 8 might not help you do your taxes better, but it does train your brain to look for unconventional solutions. It builds a sort of "creative persistence." You learn that if "Plan A" (the logical way) doesn't work, "Plan B" (the weird way) might.
That’s a valuable skill in the real world. Think about coding or engineering. Sometimes the "logical" fix isn't the one that works. Sometimes you have to "feed the cat" by moving the fish to the word instead of the animal.
How to approach the rest of the game
Once you get past Level 8, the game gets weirder. You’ll encounter levels where you have to find "hidden" objects that aren't actually hidden—they're just invisible until you move a cloud or blow on your microphone.
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The "meta" of Brain Test is to assume the game is lying to you.
- Check the text: Can you move the words?
- Check the background: Is that sun actually a button?
- Check your hardware: Do you need to tilt the phone? Plug in a charger? Turn down the volume?
- Ignore the obvious: If the game tells you to "stop the fire," and there's a bucket of water, the water is probably gasoline.
Final takeaway for Level 8
If you are stuck right now: Grab the fish and drag it directly onto the cat. Don't worry about the plate. Don't worry about manners. Just shove the fish into the cat's face.
It’s a blunt solution for a game that thrives on making you feel over-analytical. The lesson of Level 8 is that sometimes the most obvious answer is the one you’re ignoring because you’re looking for a "trick." Ironically, the trick is that there is no trick—you just have to be more direct than you thought.
Actionable Steps for Puzzlers
- Reset your perspective: If a move doesn't work after three tries, stop doing it. Your brain is stuck in a loop.
- Interact with everything: Drag every object on the screen to every other object. Drag the cat to the fish. Drag the fish to the cat. Drag the plate to the cat.
- Think physically: Move your phone. Rotate it. If the cat is "hungry," maybe he needs to be "closer" to the food by you tilting the screen. (Though for Level 8, it’s a simple drag-and-drop).
- Take a break: Cognitive fatigue is real. If you can't solve it, put the phone down for five minutes. When you come back, the "functional fixedness" usually resets, and the answer will jump out at you.
Brain Test Level 8 is just the beginning of a very long, very strange journey. Take the win, feed the cat, and get ready for things to get a whole lot more nonsensical as you move toward Level 100.