How to Pass the McKinsey Solve Game: A Game-by-Game Plan (2026)

Just got your McKinsey Solve invitation, and all you can think is: how do I actually pass this? 🎯

Reading that most candidates fail would make anyone nervous.

Most tips online about how to pass the McKinsey Solve game are out of date. Some still prepare you for games McKinsey stopped using, and very few explain what actually decides your result.

So what exactly should you do to pass?

Well, that’s exactly why I wrote this article. As a coach, I will show you what McKinsey looks for, the mistakes that make candidates fail, and a clear plan for each game.

Let’s dive in!

What Does It Take to Pass the McKinsey Solve Game?

The McKinsey Solve game is the online assessment McKinsey sends to most candidates as the first step after they apply. It is also known as the McKinsey PSG, the McKinsey Problem Solving Game, the McKinsey Digital Assessment, or the Imbellus game, after the company that first built it. They are all the same gamified assessment.

Instead of asking business questions, it sets you tasks in a nature setting: animals, islands, and oceans. McKinsey says you need no business knowledge and no gaming experience, because the game is designed to test how you think.

There Is No Official Pass Mark

Here’s the truth: McKinsey does not publish a pass mark or a pass rate. Unofficial estimates say only about 20 to 30% of candidates pass, which is why the test has such a scary reputation.

If you ask HR, you can usually get your result as a decile from 1 to 10. I recommend aiming for decile 8 or higher, as I explain in my McKinsey Solve score guide.

McKinsey also says it considers your performance in the McKinsey assessment together with the rest of your application, so a strong resume still matters.

What McKinsey Evaluates

McKinsey claims there are two scores. The product score is about your results: your answers, your final microbes, and your chart. The process score is about how you got there, because the game records your clicks and choices.

Behind both scores are five cognitive skills:

• Critical thinking: understanding what the data really says.
• Decision-making: choosing the best course of action without all the facts.
• Metacognition: noticing when your approach is not working, and changing it.
• Situational awareness: seeing what is happening and what may come next.
• Systems thinking: understanding how one change affects a whole system, like a food chain in an ecosystem.

So passing is not about luck or tricks. It is about showing calm, organized problem-solving skills under time pressure.

Know Which Games You Will Play

Check the time in your invitation email before anything else. Three versions of the test have been used in recent months:

• 65 minutes: Redrock and Sea Wolf.
• 85 minutes: Redrock, Sea Wolf, and the old 20-minute Sustainable Futures Lab.
• 95 minutes: Redrock, Sea Wolf, and the new 30-minute Sustainable Futures Lab.

We have not received recent reports of the first two being used, and the 95-minute version is likely the main one now. That being said, always refer to your invitation email.

You can skip the Ecosystem Building game, the Plant Defense game, and Disaster Management. McKinsey no longer uses them, so preparing for them is wasted time.

Why Most Candidates Fail the McKinsey Solve

Before the tactics, it helps to know what goes wrong. These are the reasons I see most often.

Time Runs Out

Time pressure is the biggest reason candidates fail the McKinsey test. Each game has its own timer, and spending too long on one part often means rushing, or skipping, the rest.

Learning the Rules During the Test

Many candidates meet each game for the first time in the real test. Learning the rules of the McKinsey game while the clock runs costs minutes you cannot get back. Each game starts with an untimed tutorial, but it cannot replace knowing the rules in advance.

Small Mistakes That Cost Big Points

• Collecting too much data in Redrock. Much of the information is only there to distract you.
• Mixing up percentages and percentage points. A rise “by 5%” is not the same as a rise “by 5 percentage points”.
• Missing a rule in Sea Wolf. A microbe with the undesired trait costs you 20% at that site.
• Overreacting in the Sustainable Futures Lab. Not every new piece of information should change your plan.
• Preparing with old guides. If a guide still trains you for the Ecosystem game, it prepares you for a test you will not take.
• Clicking around at random. Because of the process score, trying options just to see what happens can hurt you even when your final answer is right.

How to Pass the McKinsey Solve Game, Game by Game

Each game tests different skills, so each needs its own approach.

Redrock (35 Minutes): Data and Math

In the Redrock game, you are a researcher studying animals on an island. It is the game with the most math, mostly percentages, ratios, and averages, with a calculator inside the game. Part 1 is the Study (Investigation, Analysis, and Report), and Part 2 is 6 short case questions.

Spend about 23 minutes on the Study and about 12 minutes on the cases, which is roughly 2 minutes per case question.

My tips to pass Redrock:

• Read the research goal first. Then collect only the data you need.
• Rename your Research Journal cards. Clear labels help you find each number fast in the Analysis phase.
• Save your in-between results. You may need them again in the Report, and redoing the math wastes time.
• Use the game’s own calculator. That way your work stays visible to the process score.
• Pick the chart that fits the data. Bar charts compare groups, and line charts show a trend over time.

You cannot go back from the cases to the Study, or back to an earlier Analysis question. So finish each step before you move on, and make your best guess if you get stuck on a case.

Sea Wolf (30 Minutes): Logic Under Rules

In the Sea Wolf game, also called the McKinsey Ocean Cleanup or Ocean Treatment game, you clean 3 polluted ocean sites with microbes. For each site, you pick 2 characteristics, sort microbes, build a pool of 10, and choose a final team of 3.

Each site has 5 checks worth 20% each. The average of each of the 3 attributes must sit inside the site’s range, at least one microbe should have the desired trait, and no microbe can have the undesired trait.

To pass Sea Wolf:

• Check traits before doing any math. Rule out every microbe with the undesired trait first.
• Turn the range into a total. With 3 microbes, an average between 4 and 6 means their values must add up to between 12 and 18, which is faster to check.
• Keep to about 10 minutes per site. Reaching all three sites matters more than a perfect first site.
• Accept the best possible score. Some sites cannot reach 100%, and 80% or 60% may be the best you can get.

For the final pick of 3 microbes, McKinsey says you may not use applications during the test. We still suggest an Excel solver, as Excel is not ruled out as an option in the instructions and it saves a lot of time on the hardest step. We have our own Sea Wolf solver, so practice with it before you play the actual game.

Sustainable Futures Lab (30 Minutes): Judgment

The Sustainable Futures Lab is the third game, and it has no math. It tests how you set priorities, decide with incomplete information, and handle a team and other stakeholders.

In the new version, you lead a research team over three simulated days. You start by ranking 4 questions, and you are judged on your ranking. Then each day has four stages: Explore, Assign, Support, and Reflect.

To pass the Sustainable Futures Lab:

• Spend your Explore requests wisely. You get only 2–3 a day, so ask where a new insight would change your choices.
• Keep pen and paper next to you. The in-game Notes reset every day, and you will need what people said in Support and Reflect.
• Pick the balanced answer in Support. You choose from 2 to 4 answer options, and the one a McKinsey consultant would pick usually beats options that ignore someone, push too hard, or delay action.
• Watch the clock. It never pauses, so aim to finish each day in about 10 minutes.
• Don’t overreact. Before you change course, ask whether the new information really changes your plan.

How to Prepare for the McKinsey Solve Test (and Pass on Test Day)

McKinsey says no preparation is needed. I suggest you prepare anyway, because the format is new to almost everyone and the time pressure is real.

Quality Over Quantity

You do not need 20 or 25 full simulations per game. A few solid practice runs, each one reviewed, are worth more than many rushed ones. Candidates usually get 1 week after the invitation to take the test, so plan around your deadline from day one:

1. Learn the game mechanics. Read how each game works before you play anything.
2. Brush up on basic math. Percentages, ratios, and averages cover almost all of Redrock.
3. Play each game once without a timer. Focus on the interface and the rules, not the score.
4. Then play with the real time limit. After each run, write down your biggest mistake and fix it next time.
5. Rest a few hours before. A fresh mind is worth more than one extra run.

Check that any McKinsey Solve game simulation matches the current format: 6 Redrock cases, 3 Sea Wolf sites, the new Sustainable Futures Lab, and no Ecosystem game. That is why we built playable simulations of each game, and my McKinsey Solve game practice guide has a full one-week plan.

On the Day of the Test

• Run the tech check early. You need a PC or Mac, not a phone or tablet, and a mouse is optional but makes dragging easier.
• Play alone, in a quiet room with stable internet. McKinsey’s rules say no help from others, no AI tools, and no pre-prepared notes.
• Read every tutorial calmly. They are untimed and your last chance to check the rules before you start the game.
• Move on when you are stuck. A best guess on one question beats no answer on three.

If something breaks, take a screenshot and contact the support address in your invitation email right away. McKinsey says support may add time or reset your link, but only if you report the problem when it happens.

What Happens After You Pass

Results usually come within a few weeks, sometimes within days. If you pass, the next step is a McKinsey interview: a case interview, where you solve a problem out loud with a McKinsey interviewer, usually together with a personal experience interview (PEI).

If you fail, you usually have to wait about 12 months before you can try again. That’s why it pays to prepare well for your first attempt, and to start your McKinsey case interview prep early.

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Pass the McKinsey Solve Game