How could prediction be used in the game?

An idea for a level that requires observation and prediction: Imagine a platform game like Mario. There is a box that hero must hit with their head, and a bonus item flies from the box. Hero must catch the item, because when it falls on the floor, it breaks... then another box comes (there is an infinite supply of boxes) and hero can try again.

The difficult part is this: The item flies to one direction (left or right) so quickly that it is impossible to catch it, unless player predicts the direction and is already running there while hitting the box. Also player must catch 10 items in a row to complete the level.

The direction of the item somehow depends on the shape / color / symbol of the box. So the right way to win this level is to just hit the first few boxes, observe the direction and make a model; and then apply this model to the following boxes. The rules could be selected randomly, for example "if the box is red OR the symbol is a fish, the item flies left, otherwise it flies right".