McKinsey Solve: what it is, how it's scored, and how to prep
What is McKinsey Solve?
McKinsey Solve is the gamified problem-solving assessment that replaced the legacy Problem Solving Test (PST) for most offices. It's an online, browser-based assessment taken at home (or wherever you have a quiet 60–75 minutes and a stable internet connection). Solve is used at the screening stage — usually shortly after you submit your application — and the result, combined with your CV, determines whether you progress to first-round interviews.
Unlike the PST (multiple choice, timed, pencil-and-paper), Solve presents you with interactive game-like scenarios. You don't need any gaming background; the interface is straightforward. What's being measured is your structured problem solving under uncertainty, not reflexes or trivia.
The modules you'll face
McKinsey rotates modules between candidate cohorts, and new modules are added periodically. The ones you're most likely to encounter today are:
| Module | What you do | Core skill |
|---|---|---|
| Ecosystem | Build a viable food chain from species & environment data | Optimization under constraints |
| Redrock | Research a case, analyze data, write a report | Hypothesis-driven analysis |
| Sea Wolf | Pick microbes to treat contamination across 3 sites | Multi-criteria selection |
| Sustainable Future Labs | Balance sustainability, cost, throughput | Trade-off reasoning |
You'll typically play one or two of these in a single Solve session. Each module takes 20–40 minutes.
How Solve is scored
McKinsey does not publish the exact scoring algorithm, but research with candidates and the structure of the games makes the dimensions clear:
- Correctness of the final solution. Did you reach the optimal (or near-optimal) outcome?
- Efficiency of moves. How many steps / how much time did you take to get there?
- Trade-off handling. When objectives conflict, do you make defensible choices?
- Information use. Did you incorporate the data given (ranges, traits, constraints) correctly?
How to prepare
- Understand each module's logic before you play. Read our Ecosystem, Sea Wolf, Redrock, and Sustainable Future Labs guides.
- Practice with the solvers. Our Ecosystem and Sea Wolf solvers implement the exact selection logic so you can rehearse the decision patterns.
- Brush up mental math. Speed on percentages and ranges matters in Ecosystem and Redrock.
- Play under timed conditions. The biggest score-killer isn't getting it wrong — it's running out of time.
Practice with the solvers
Rehearse the Ecosystem and Sea Wolf logic for $15 per solve.