McKinsey PSG Simulation: How to Practice the Solve Games in 2026

Looking for a McKinsey PSG simulation, but every site says theirs is “just like the real thing”? 🎮

If you have never taken a game-based test, wanting to play it once before it counts is a very smart instinct.

The McKinsey Solve games have changed several times in recent years, and many simulations online still train you for games McKinsey no longer uses. Others copy the screens but not the timer, which is where most candidates struggle.

So how do you pick a simulation that actually helps, and how should you use it?

Well, that’s exactly what this article is for. As a coach, I will show you what each game should look like in a good simulation, a simple way to practice, and the mistakes that waste your runs.

Let’s dive in!

What Is a McKinsey PSG Simulation, and Does It Work?

The McKinsey PSG, short for McKinsey Problem Solving Game, is the online assessment game McKinsey uses to screen the people it wants to recruit, usually as the first step after you submit your application. Today it is called McKinsey Solve, and you may also see it as the McKinsey Digital Assessment or the Imbellus assessment, after the company that first built it. It replaced the older paper-style McKinsey Problem Solving Test (PST).

It is not a traditional test: unlike a typical aptitude test, it does not ask business questions. Instead, it puts you inside short games about nature: islands, animals, and oceans.

A simulation is a practice version of these McKinsey Solve games that you play before the actual assessment. A good one copies the screens, the rules, and the timer of each game, so the real thing does not feel like the first time.

What McKinsey Gives You (and What It Doesn’t)

McKinsey does not offer an official simulation or practice test. Its Solve page has a short preview of what the game feels like, and each real game starts with an untimed tutorial.

McKinsey also says there is no need to prepare. I suggest you practice anyway, because the format is new to almost everyone and the time pressure is real.

The stakes are high, too. There is no official pass rate, but unofficial estimates say only about 20 to 30% of candidates pass, and if you fail the McKinsey Solve, you usually have to wait about 12 months before you can try again.

Does a Simulation Really Work?

Here’s the thing: a simulation cannot give you the answers. Every candidate generally gets a different version, with new numbers, animals, and situations, so a memorized solution will not help you.

What it trains is everything around the answers: the game mechanics, the interface, your pacing, and the logic behind good choices. That matters for how McKinsey evaluates you. McKinsey claims there are two scores: the product score is about your results, and the process score is about how you got there, because the game records your clicks and choices.

So yes, it works if you use it the right way. Candidates who have already played the games use their minutes to solve problems, not to work out which button does what.

What Each McKinsey Solve Game Looks Like in a Good Simulation

Before you pick any practice tool, look at the time in your invitation email. 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. Older games like Ecosystem Building and Plant Defense are no longer used.

The McKinsey Solve includes the games in this order. Each game has its own test time, so unused minutes do not carry over to the next one. Here is what a good practice tool should copy for each.

Redrock Study (35 Minutes)

In the Redrock game, you are a researcher studying animals on an island, and it is the game with the most math: mostly percentages, ratios, and averages. Part 1 is the Study: you save useful data in a Research Journal (Investigation), answer usually 3 or 4 math questions (Analysis), then fill in a short report and pick a chart to display your data (Report). Part 2 is 6 short case questions, each with its own data.

A good practice version copies three things. It has a calculator inside the game, it gives you 35 minutes for both parts together, and it locks you in: you cannot go back from the cases to the Study, or back to an earlier Analysis question.

When you practice, aim for about 23 minutes on the Study and about 12 minutes on the cases. That is roughly 2 minutes per case question.

Sea Wolf (30 Minutes)

In the McKinsey Sea Wolf game, also called the 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.

A good practice tool scores each site the way the real game generally does. Each site starts at 100% and has 5 checks worth 20% each: the average of each of the 3 attributes is inside the site’s range, at least one microbe has the desired trait, and no microbe has the undesired trait. Some sites cannot reach 100% at all, so the best possible score may be 80% or 60%.

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 during your runs before the actual McKinsey Solve.

Sustainable Futures Lab (30 Minutes)

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

In the new 30-minute 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. You get only 2–3 Explore requests a day, you place up to 2 people per workstation, and in Support you choose from 2 to 4 answer options, with no feedback afterwards. The clock never pauses, and the in-game Notes reset every day.

Many simulations still offer only the old 20-minute version with 13 questions. If your invitation says 95 minutes, make sure your practice tool has the Explore, Assign, Support, and Reflect stages.

How to Prepare for the McKinsey Solve With a Simulation

My strategy here is simple: quality over quantity. When you practice with simulations, a few solid runs, each one reviewed, are worth more than many rushed ones, so you do not need 20 or 25 per game.

Candidates usually get 1 week after the invitation to take the test, so plan around your deadline from day one.

A Simple Simulation Plan

1. Learn the rules first. Read how each game works before your first run, so you are not learning the rules while the clock runs.
2. Play each game once without a timer. Focus on the interface and the rules, not the score.
3. Play each game with the real time limit. This is where you find out where your minutes go.
4. Review every run before the next one. Write down the single mistake that cost you the most, and fix that one thing next time.
5. Finish with one full timed run of all the games, in order. Then rest a few hours before you take the test.

For a day-by-day version of this plan, see my McKinsey Solve game practice guide.

What to Check After Each Run

• Redrock: Did you collect only the data you needed? Did you mix up percentages and percentage points? Did you reach all 6 cases?
• Sea Wolf: Did you check traits before doing any math? Did any final microbe have the undesired trait? Did you keep to about 10 minutes per site?
• Sustainable Futures Lab: Did you spend your Explore requests where a new insight would change your choices? Did you pick the balanced answer in Support, the one a McKinsey consultant would choose? Did you write down what people said on paper, since the in-game Notes reset?

One honest answer to these questions is worth more than another rushed run.

Free vs. Paid Simulations

Free test prep can take you a long way. Start with the free McKinsey preview on its Solve page, then add videos that explain the games, consulting math questions, and chart-reading exercises, especially for Redrock, like our free Redrock case course here.

Some sites also offer a free trial run of a game. The limit of free material is realism, and paid tools vary too. Whatever you use, check it against the game descriptions above before you invest your time.

That is why we built playable simulations of the Redrock Study and Sea Wolf, Redrock case drills, and a full simulation of the new 30-minute Sustainable Futures Lab, for realistic practice without endless runs, available here.

Common Mistakes, Test Day, and What Comes Next

Even good practice can go wrong. These are the mistakes I see most often, and how to avoid them on the day itself.

Simulation Mistakes to Avoid

• Using an outdated simulation. Watch for 10 Redrock cases instead of 6, only 2 Sea Wolf sites in 20 minutes, or the Ecosystem Building game. A tool still built around the Ecosystem game trains you for a test you will not take.
• Chasing only a high practice score. A practice score is a guide to your weak spots, not your real test performance.
• Replaying without reviewing. Repetition without review only repeats your mistakes.
• Practicing mainly one game. Candidates sometimes over-prepare for Redrock and get caught out by Sea Wolf or the Sustainable Futures Lab.
• Clicking around at random. Because of the process score, calm habits in practice matter as much as the right answer.

On Test Day

• Run the tech check early. The McKinsey Solve test only works on 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 other people, no AI tools, and no pre-prepared notes.
• Read every tutorial calmly. They are untimed and your last check of the rules before the clock starts.
• Move on when you are stuck. A best guess on one question beats no answer on three.

If something breaks during the test, take a screenshot and contact the support address in your invitation email right away.

What Happens After the Test

Results usually come within a few weeks, sometimes within days. If you ask HR, you can usually get your result as a decile from 1 to 10, and I recommend aiming for decile 8 or higher.

If you pass, the next step is a McKinsey interview: usually business case interviews, where you solve a problem out loud, together with a personal experience interview (PEI). Start that preparation early, since a real case interview can come quickly.

For a full game-by-game plan, see my guide to pass the McKinsey Solve game.

One last note: a McKinsey Solve simulation only prepares you for McKinsey. Other firms use different tests, such as the BCG online case or the Bain SOVA test, so they need their own preparation.

Frequently Asked Questions About the McKinsey PSG Simulation