Invited to McKinsey Solve? Try Redrock, Sea Wolf and the Sustainable Futures Lab below in the real format, then read what each game asks, its timing, how Solve is read, worked examples of each task type and what comes after.
Key facts
- Assessment: Solve is McKinsey's gamified assessment of problem solving. For most consulting roles it comes after the application review and before the interviews.1,3
- Games: The usual set is two games, Redrock (a data study plus short cases) and Sea Wolf (an ocean cleanup puzzle). Longer invitations add a third, the Sustainable Futures Lab.6,7,8
- Length: McKinsey puts the length in your invitation email. A 65-minute invitation usually means Redrock and Sea Wolf; an 85-minute one usually adds the Sustainable Futures Lab. Since late August 2026, before the summer 2028 window opens, some invitations say 95 minutes, with a longer lab of about 30 minutes; 85-minute ones still go out.2,6,7,13
- Preparation: McKinsey says no preparation is needed and no business or gaming experience is required. Each game starts with an untimed tutorial.1,2
- How it is read: Solve scores what you submit (the product score) and how you get there (the process score): what you click, what you collect and how often you backtrack. Your Solve result is weighed with the rest of your application.2,6,7
- Retakes: Solve scores are valid for one year, and you can sit Solve only once every 12 months from the date you finish it.2
- Device: Solve runs on a PC or Mac, not an iPad or phone. A tech check runs first; sound is not needed and a mouse is optional.2
- Rules: No apps, websites, AI tools or pre-prepared notes, no screenshots or recordings, and no help from anyone else. You can be asked at random to take an extra task in person or explain your logic.1,2
Solve is not the only first screen. Depending on the role and office, McKinsey may invite you to a phone screening call or a test instead; for most consulting roles it is Solve.3
Try the tests
Solve's games as the app builds them, each cut to a few minutes at the real pace: the start of Redrock, one Sea Wolf site, and the start of the Sustainable Futures Lab. Each one opens in its own window, with a report at the end.
Redrock Study
Collect the figures a study's objective needs into your Research Journal, then work question 1 in the calculator. The start of Part 1.
Investigation and question 1 · 4:40
Sea Wolf
Program the Database, sort ten microbes, build a pool of ten and treat site 1 with the best three. One of the three sites.
Site 1 of 3 · 10:00
Sustainable Futures Lab
On 85-minute invitations. Rank four first steps, then make three decisions as the project develops. No right answers.
Ranking and 3 decisions · 6:09
What the McKinsey & Company online assessment looks like
The invitation
After McKinsey reviews your application, most consulting candidates get a Solve link by email. The email gives the length of your Solve and the deadline. Expect only a few days, around 3 to 7, between the invitation and the deadline, so get ready before you apply.3,2,6
Set up before you click
Use a PC or Mac. The link runs a tech check first. Sound is not needed and a mouse is optional. Choose a time when no one will disturb you, because McKinsey expects you to play alone and without notes, AI tools or screenshots. If something breaks, contact Solve support at once: McKinsey will not reset a link for a problem you did not report at the time.2,1
Redrock
The first game, about 30 to 35 minutes. Part one is a study in three phases: collect the data that matters into a research journal, answer calculation questions with the in-game calculator, then fill in a report and build a chart. Part two is a run of short cases on the same theme, about six of them, answered in order.6,7,9
Sea Wolf
The second game, about 30 minutes. You clean up three ocean sites by choosing three microbes for each. Each site sets a range for three attributes and names a trait to include and one to avoid; your three microbes' averages must land in range. Spare time from Redrock does not carry over.6,8
Sustainable Futures Lab, on longer invitations
On 85-minute invitations, a third module of about 20 minutes and 13 questions on one sustainability project: a drag-and-drop ranking of first steps, then 12 multiple-choice decisions as the project unfolds. It reads judgment, not math. The 85-minute version runs in the US, among other regions. Since late August 2026, 95-minute invitations carry a rebuilt lab of about 30 minutes instead, in which you lead a small research team over three project days.6,7,13
After Solve
McKinsey does not decide on Solve alone; your results sit beside the rest of your application. If you pass, the first round has been back-to-back virtual interviews with associates, each a personal experience interview of about 15 minutes and a case of about 30.2,10
The games and their timing
- Tech check and tutorials Untimed
- A device check after you click the link, then an untimed tutorial before each game.
- Redrock About 30 to 35 min
- Study (investigation, analysis, report), then about six short cases.
- Sea Wolf About 30 min
- Three ocean sites, three microbes each, against attribute ranges and trait rules.
- Sustainable Futures Lab About 20 or 30 min
- About 20 minutes on 85-minute invitations: 1 ranking question and 12 scenario decisions. A different version of about 30 minutes runs on 95-minute invitations.
McKinsey gives your total length in the invitation, not per game. The game minutes come from prep-site walkthroughs, which differ by up to 5 minutes on Redrock and Sea Wolf. Time does not roll over from one game to the next.2,6,7,8,9,13
Before you start Solve
- A PC or Mac, plugged in, with the tech check passed. Not an iPad or phone.
- A mouse if you like one; McKinsey says it is optional.
- A quiet room and a block of time longer than your invitation says: tutorials are untimed and add to it.
- Pen and paper for your own working, if your instructions allow it, and no pre-prepared notes.
- Percentages, ratios, growth rates and weighted averages fresh in your head.
- Phone silent and other tabs closed. No AI tools, screenshots or recordings.
- The Solve support contact from your invitation to hand, in case the link or graphics fail.
The sections, one by one
Solve has no questions in the usual sense. Each game is a task with its own rules, and together they read how you collect information, calculate and decide under a clock.1,6,7
- Data collection (Redrock): Pick the few numbers that matter out of a page of text, tables and charts, and save them to the journal.
- Calculation (Redrock): Percentages, ratios, growth rates and weighted averages, worked in the in-game calculator.
- Report and chart (Redrock): Fill the gaps in a written report and choose the chart that shows the result.
- Short cases (Redrock): Standalone word, formula, reading and chart questions on the study's theme, under time pressure.
- Optimization (Sea Wolf): Choose three microbes per site whose average attributes fit the target ranges, with the right traits.
- Judgment (Sustainable Futures Lab): Rank first steps, then make a run of project decisions as new facts arrive.
Here is each game as it appears in Intervyo, on Solve's screens as the app builds them. Each game has its own clock and starts with an untimed tutorial, and spare time does not carry over to the next game.2,6,7
1.Redrock StudyAbout 30 to 35 min
A study, then short cases, on one clock shown as a bar with a mark at halfway. In the study you collect the figures the objective needs from a page of text and tables into a research journal, answer calculation questions with the in-game calculator, then fill in a written report and build a chart. The study page closes once you finish collecting, so later stages work only from your journal. Then about six short cases on the same theme, answered in order. The stages are listed down the left, with the journal and the calculator on the right.6,7,9,2,12
What it measures: Finding the data that matters among data that does not, accurate business math under a clock, and turning results into a conclusion.
How to answer it well
- 1Read the objective and what researchers need to assess first, then collect only the figures they point at.
- 2Work every step in the in-game calculator: Solve reads how you work, and the history holds the numbers you will need again.
- 3Leave yourself about half the clock for the cases.
2.Sea WolfAbout 30 min
Three ocean sites, cleaned one at a time, with a ring clock showing the minutes left for all three. Each site sets a range for three attributes and names a trait to include and one to avoid, kept on a notepad. Each site runs in steps: switch on two characteristics to set which microbes the database sends you, sort the ones that arrive into this site, the next site or reject, add more from cards shown three at a time, then choose three microbes. Their average attributes must land in range, with the trait you need and without the one you don't.6,8,12
What it measures: Holding several conditions at once and narrowing a large pool without losing the answer.
How to answer it well
- 1Drop every microbe with the trait to avoid first.
- 2Filter on the narrowest range, which rules out the most microbes fastest.
- 3Judge the three together: a microbe outside a range can still be right if the other two pull the average back in.
3.Sustainable Futures LabAbout 20 min
On 85-minute invitations, about 20 minutes. 13 questions on one sustainability project: first you rank four first steps by dragging them into order, then you make 12 multiple-choice decisions as the project unfolds. 95-minute invitations carry a different lab of about 30 minutes, run over three project days.6,7,13
What it measures: Judgment: how you prioritize and decide as new facts arrive, with little math.
How to answer it well
- 1Put structuring first: agree what the project must achieve before gathering more data.
- 2Keep later decisions consistent with the order you chose in the ranking.
- 3Pick the option you would actually take, not the one that sounds most impressive.
Solve task types and how to approach them
Redrock: weighted average"Redrock case: Product A has $50M revenue at an 8% margin and Product B $150M at a 12% margin. What is the blended margin?"7,6
- 1Spot that the question asks for one margin across two products of different size: a weighted average.
- 2Work out each product's profit: $4M and $18M.
- 3Divide total profit by total revenue: $22M over $200M.
- 4Check the answer sits between the two margins and nearer the bigger product's: 11%.
Tip: Do every step in the in-game calculator and save the result to the journal. Solve reads your path, and you will often need the number again.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
11%. Profit is $4M + $18M = $22M on $200M of revenue.
Sea Wolf: optimization"Sea Wolf site: attributes must average 7 to 9 on Energy, the site needs a heat-resistant microbe and rules out aerobic ones. Which microbes do you shortlist?"6,8
- 1Drop every microbe with the trait to avoid first; it costs a fifth of the site's score on its own.
- 2Filter on the attribute whose range sits furthest from the middle (here, Energy 7 to 9), which rules out the most microbes fastest.
- 3Make sure at least one of the three carries the desired trait.
- 4Check that the three averages land in range. Mix a high and a low value if one microbe pulls an average out.
Tip: A perfect site is not always possible with the microbes you get. Aim for the best combination available and move on; spare time carries to the next site, not the next game.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
Shortlist the non-aerobic microbes with Energy of 7 or more, keep one heat-resistant one among them, then pick the three whose other two attributes also average inside their ranges.
Sustainable Futures Lab: ranking"Sustainable Futures Lab: a wetland restoration project is starting. Rank four first steps: gather all available data, agree the project's goal and structure, survey stakeholders, start a pilot."7
- 1Put structuring first: agree what the project must achieve and how to break it down.
- 2Then the data that tests that structure, then stakeholder views.
- 3Leave action, such as a pilot, until the plan rests on evidence.
- 4Keep later answers consistent with the order you chose here.
Tip: Collecting more data before you have a working hypothesis is the classic trap in this module.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
1. Agree the goal and structure. 2. Gather the data the structure calls for. 3. Survey stakeholders. 4. Start a pilot.
Redrock: chart choice"Redrock report: show how five competitors' market share changed from 2019 to 2024. Which chart?"7,6
- 1Ask what the chart must show: a trend over time, a comparison at one point, or parts of a whole.
- 2Trend over time: line chart. One-year comparison across categories: bar chart.
- 3Use a pie chart only for shares of a single whole at one moment.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
A line chart, one line per competitor, years on the horizontal axis.
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How long to hear back after the online assessment
The link comes after the application review and the deadline is short. After Solve, the wait to a first-round invitation varies by office and cycle.3,6
Apr 2025 (summer 2026)
Student applicant, generalist, New York
Passed the resume screen, then a series of game-based tests. Two to three months in all.11
Oct 2026 (summer 2027)
Summer Associate intern (MBA track), Detroit
Solve in three separate sections, then back-to-back virtual first rounds and an in-person final round. One to two months in all.10
For summer 2027, McKinsey's US intern window ran from Jan 1 to Mar 29, 2026, and applications were still reviewed on a rolling basis after the deadline.4,5
Best guessExpect a Solve invitation within a couple of weeks of applying, with a deadline a few days later. If two weeks pass after Solve with no word, check your candidate portal, then email your recruiter.
What happens after the online assessment
Online application
Done. One application, with up to three preferred offices.3
SolveYou are here
This page. McKinsey's gamified assessment for most consulting roles; some roles and offices use a phone screen or a test instead.3,1
First-round interviews
Back-to-back interviews with associates, each a personal experience interview and a case, which can be virtual.10
Final-round interviews
Three interviews with partners, in person at the hiring office.10
65-minute vs 85-minute Solve
McKinsey sets the length per invitation, by role and region. The minutes tell you which games to expect; a 95-minute invitation has the same three games as an 85-minute one, with a longer lab of about 30 minutes.
FAQ
What is McKinsey Solve?
McKinsey's gamified assessment of problem solving. For most consulting roles it follows the application review. It usually has two games, Redrock and Sea Wolf, and longer invitations add the Sustainable Futures Lab.1,3,6,7
How long is McKinsey Solve?
Your invitation email gives the length. It is usually 65 minutes (Redrock and Sea Wolf) or 85 minutes (adding the Sustainable Futures Lab), plus untimed tutorials before each game. Since late August 2026, before the summer 2028 window opens, some invitations say 95 minutes, with a longer lab of about 30 minutes; 85-minute invitations still go out.2,6,7,13
Does everyone get Solve?
Most consulting candidates do. Depending on the role and office, McKinsey may use a phone screening call or a test instead.3
How is Solve scored?
On what you submit and on how you work: Solve records your clicks, the data you collect and how you move through each task. McKinsey does not share your score, and it weighs Solve with the rest of your application rather than deciding on it alone.2,6,7
Do I need to prepare for McKinsey Solve?
McKinsey says no preparation is needed and no business or gaming experience is required. In practice, fast business math, knowing the Sea Wolf rules and a quiet, well set-up machine all help, because the deadline after the invitation is short.1,2,6
Can I retake McKinsey Solve?
Not for 12 months. Solve scores are valid for one year, and you can sit it only once every 12 months from the date you finish.2
Can I use a calculator or notes in Solve?
Pre-prepared notes, apps, websites and AI tools are not allowed. Redrock has its own in-game calculator, and using it matters because Solve logs your calculations.1,2,7
Can I take Solve on a phone or iPad?
No. Solve runs only on a PC or Mac, after a tech check. Sound is not needed and a mouse is optional.2
Online assessment at other firms
Sources
Firm pages first, then dated candidate reports. Last checked Nov 4, 2026.
- 1McKinsey & Company: Solve, McKinsey's assessment game
- 2McKinsey & Company: Solve, McKinsey's Assessment Game: FAQs (Sep 2026)
- 3McKinsey & Company: Campus application deadlines
- 4McKinsey & Company, via the Wayback Machine: US Undergraduate & Masters schools (Jul 2026 capture)
- 5Yale Office of Career Strategy, via the Wayback Machine: McKinsey, Bain, and BCG Application Deadlines for 2027 Summer and Full-Time Roles · prep site
- 6Leland, on Harvard FAS Mignone Center for Career Success: What Is the McKinsey Solve Game and How to Prepare, Practice & Pass (2026) · prep site
- 7MyConsultingCoach: McKinsey Solve Guide 2026: Redrock, Sea Wolf & SFL Prep · prep site
- 8MConsultingPrep: McKinsey Solve 2026: Seawolf Deep Dive · prep site
- 9MConsultingPrep: McKinsey Solve 2026: Redrock Deep Dive · prep site
- 10Candidate report on a public forum: Summer Associate intern interview, Detroit (Oct 2026)
- 11Candidate report on a public forum: Student interview, generalist, New York (Apr 2025)
- 12Record of a live McKinsey Solve sitting, Redrock and Sea Wolf (Nov 10, 2025)
- 13Road to Offer: McKinsey Sustainable Futures Lab 2026: The New 30-Minute Island Version · prep site
Intervyo isn't affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by McKinsey & Company. Formats change between cycles and divisions, so always follow the instructions in your own invite.