# Children's Intelligence Tests Pose Challenges for MLLMs? KidGym: A 2D Grid-Based Reasoning Benchmark for MLLMs

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.20209 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.20209/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Multimodal reasoning, one of 17 directions in LLM reasoning.
- Builds on 51 of its 70 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 2 Mar 2026.

## Placed in

- LLM reasoning / [Multimodal reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/lr/multimodal-reasoning/)
- Multimodal LLMs / vision-language models / [MLLM training and visual instruction tuning](https://mlsanity.com/mllm/mllm-training-and-visual-instruction-tuning/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 51)

- [Language Models are Few-Shot Learners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.14165/) (2020)
- [Training language models to follow instructions with human feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.02155/) (2022)
- [Scaling Instruction-Finetuned Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.11416/) (2022)
- [InternVL3: Exploring Advanced Training and Test-Time Recipes for Open-Source Multimodal Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.10479/) (2025)
- [MME: A Comprehensive Evaluation Benchmark for Multimodal Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.13394/) (2023)
- [MM-Vet: Evaluating Large Multimodal Models for Integrated Capabilities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.02490/) (2023)
- [OpenAI GPT-5 System Card](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.03267/) (2025)
- [DeepSeek LLM: Scaling Open-Source Language Models with Longtermism](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.02954/) (2024)
- [Leveraging Procedural Generation to Benchmark Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.01588/) (2019)
- [Using cognitive psychology to understand GPT-3](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.14576/) (2022)
- [Minigrid & Miniworld: Modular & Customizable Reinforcement Learning Environments for Goal-Oriented Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.13831/) (2023)
- [LogicVista: Multimodal LLM Logical Reasoning Benchmark in Visual Contexts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.04973/) (2024)
- [LVLM-eHub: A Comprehensive Evaluation Benchmark for Large Vision-Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.09265/) (2023)
- [MineRL: A Large-Scale Dataset of Minecraft Demonstrations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.13440/) (2019)
- [Benchmarking the Spectrum of Agent Capabilities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.06780/) (2021)
- [OneLLM: One Framework to Align All Modalities with Language](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.03700/) (2023)
- [Fact, Fetch, and Reason: A Unified Evaluation of Retrieval-Augmented Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.12941/) (2024)
- [Math-LLaVA: Bootstrapping Mathematical Reasoning for Multimodal Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.17294/) (2024)
- [GenArtist: Multimodal LLM as an Agent for Unified Image Generation and Editing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.05600/) (2024)
- [Evaluation of OpenAI o1: Opportunities and Challenges of AGI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.18486/) (2024)
- [SmartPlay: A Benchmark for LLMs as Intelligent Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.01557/) (2023)
- [MiniHack the Planet: A Sandbox for Open-Ended Reinforcement Learning Research](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.13202/) (2021)
- [SEED-Bench-2: Benchmarking Multimodal Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.17092/) (2023)
- [GameBench: Evaluating Strategic Reasoning Abilities of LLM Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.06613/) (2024)
- [MileBench: Benchmarking MLLMs in Long Context](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.18532/) (2024)
- [A Survey on Benchmarks of Multimodal Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.08632/) (2024)
- [EgoPlan-Bench: Benchmarking Multimodal Large Language Models for Human-Level Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.06722/) (2023)
- [The ThreeDWorld Transport Challenge: A Visually Guided Task-and-Motion Planning Benchmark for Physically Realistic Embodied AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.14025/) (2021)
- [ILLUME: Illuminating Your LLMs to See, Draw, and Self-Enhance](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.06673/) (2024)
- [LLM-Assist: Enhancing Closed-Loop Planning with Language-Based Reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.00125/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Evaluating Cognitive Age Alignment in Interactive AI Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.17894/) (2026)
- [An Exam for Active Observers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.16165/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) combine the linguistic strengths of LLMs with the ability to process multimodal data, enbaling them to address a broader range of visual tasks. Because MLLMs aim at more general, human-like competence than language-only models, we take inspiration from the Wechsler Intelligence Scales - an established battery for evaluating children by decomposing intelligence into interpretable, testable abilities. We introduce KidGym, a comprehensive 2D grid-based benchmark for assessing five essential capabilities of MLLMs: Execution, Perception Reasoning, Learning, Memory and Planning. The benchmark comprises 12 unique tasks, each targeting at least one core capability, specifically designed to guage MLLMs' adaptability and developmental potential, mirroring the stages of children's cognitive growth. Additionally, our tasks encompass diverse scenarios and objects with randomly generated layouts, ensuring a more accurate and robust evluation of MLLM capabilities. KidGym is designed to be fully user-customizable and extensible, allowing researchers to create new evaluation scenarios and adjust difficuly levels to accommodate the rapidly growing MLLM community. Through the evaluation of state-of-the-art MLLMs using KidGym, we identified significant insights into model capabilities and revealed several limitations of current models. We release our benchmark at: https://bobo-ye.github.io/KidGym/.