You first tried a gentle touch, which didn't work. You then tried brute force. That didn't work either.

You probably even came up with a few novel approaches: skipping holes, working by color, thinking good thoughts, lining them up left to right, or right to left. Again, no luck.
The key to solving the magnetic intelligence Test is to understand how magnets work. If you try and fight a marble it will always win--work with it, and you will find life going much more smoothly. It's a zen thing. Here's how you do it:


1. Put all the marbles in the palm of your hand. You will note that they link in a nice straight line. This means that the magnets have lined up their poles for you!

2. Notice that each magnet has a seam running across its middle.

3. Notice too that each magnet's seam lines up exactly the same way. Ta-da! This is a clue!

4. Go back to the Magnetic Intelligence Test and put the marbles in the holes so the seams all run exactly in the same direction! Left, right, sideways--the only thing that matters is that the seams line up the same way. The magnet's poles are now working with you instead of against you.

5. The first two marbles are the hardest. You will need a steady hand but you should see immediate progress. Soon, you will have placed all the marbles on the board!

6. Never tell anyone else the secret. Act superior. Make them look dumb.

IF THERE IS A LOT OF MAGNETIC INTERFERENCE IN THE AIR:

We once did a trade show where thousands of people were walking across cheap carpet. The result was that we couldn't make the marbles stay in place! Because of all the static electricity in the air they were acting crazily, almost as if they had minds of their own. If this happens to you, here is what you should do:

1. Turn every other marble upside down--but keep the seam going the same way. This cancels out a lot of static interference.