How long is McKinsey Solve?

Your invitation email states the length. Candidates report 65 minutes for Redrock and Sea Wolf, and 85 minutes when the Sustainable Futures Lab is added. McKinsey’s FAQ: “Each task within Solve will begin with an untimed tutorial.” So plan for more time at your desk than the timed total.

Is McKinsey Solve the same as the PSG?

Yes. Solve is the current name for what McKinsey earlier called the Problem Solving Game (PSG), and forums also call it the Imbellus game or the McKinsey Digital Assessment. The games inside it have changed over time, which is why older guides describe an ecosystem-building game that current invitations reportedly no longer include.

Which games are in McKinsey Solve now?

Candidates currently report Redrock (a data analysis study) and Sea Wolf (choosing microbes for contaminated ocean sites) on every invitation, with the Sustainable Futures Lab (a text-based judgment task) on longer 85-minute invitations. Check your own invitation rather than assuming.

What score do you need to pass McKinsey Solve?

McKinsey publishes no passing score and no pass rate. Prep sites report that Solve looks at two things: what you achieve (correct values in Redrock, microbe sets that meet each site's targets in Sea Wolf) and how you work (which data you collect and how you use your time; collecting everything on screen is reported to count against you). Candidates are reportedly compared with each other. Our scoring article sets out what is reported and where each claim comes from.

Can you retake McKinsey Solve?

Not within the same application. If you do not advance, you normally reapply after a waiting period; third-party guides report anything from about 6 to 24 months depending on the office. Ask your recruiter for the rule that applies to you.

Can you prepare for McKinsey Solve?

McKinsey’s FAQ: “No preparation is needed. Solve does not require previous business knowledge or gaming experience.” Each task opens with a tutorial. In practice, candidates who have already seen the screens spend fewer timed minutes learning the interface. Legitimate preparation is practicing beforehand. During the test itself: McKinsey’s FAQ says that, except as a disability accommodation McKinsey has approved in writing, you may not “use applications, websites, AI tools, or pre-prepared notes” or “record or capture screenshots of any part of the assessment”, and that you take it “alone, without assistance from others”.

What does DrillCase include for Solve practice?

21 current scenarios: 10 Redrock studies, 10 Sustainable Futures Lab scenarios and Sea Wolf as unlimited generated runs, each on a clock with a results screen, plus the Ecosystem Creation archive. Solve VIP ($159, lifetime) covers all of them and has a 7-day money-back guarantee. Solve Basic covers 3 Redrock studies and unlimited Sea Wolf runs.

Is DrillCase affiliated with McKinsey?

No. DrillCase is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by McKinsey & Company.

Game guide and practice testRedrockSea WolfSFL

McKinsey Solve practice test: every game, on the clock

What each game asks and how long it reportedly runs. Got your invitation? Its length tells you which games you'll get: decode it and get a plan to your test date, free.

Decode my invitation Or play a Redrock study free

Exhibit 1

Your session, as candidates report it

Timings as reported by candidates; your invitation email states yours. Each game opens with an untimed tutorial.

Source: candidate reports, compiled in our McKinsey Solve guide

Your invitation says something else? Pick your length and get a plan →

How the Solve format has changed, with dates and sources →

Format last verified 23 Sep 2026Sources

McKinsey’s FAQ: “The length of your Solve assessment is outlined in your invitation email.”
Stated by McKinsey · verified 30 Sep 2026
- McKinsey & Company, Solve: McKinsey's Assessment Game FAQs (August 2025 PDF) · Aug 2025 (published 2025-09-19) · read 8 Oct 2026
McKinsey’s FAQ: “Each task within Solve will begin with an untimed tutorial.”
Stated by McKinsey · verified 30 Sep 2026
- McKinsey & Company, Solve: McKinsey's Assessment Game FAQs (August 2025 PDF) · Aug 2025 (published 2025-09-19) · read 8 Oct 2026
Each game has its own time limit; minutes left over in one game do not carry into the next.
Reported: one source, or sources disagree · verified 30 Sep 2026
- MConsultingPrep, McKinsey Solve (Imbellus Game) overview · undated (2026 update) · read 30 Sep 2026
- MConsultingPrep, McKinsey Solve Seawolf deep dive · 2025-07-07, updated 2026 · read 30 Sep 2026
A 65-minute invitation reportedly means Redrock Study (35 min) + Sea Wolf (30 min).
Several independent reports agree; not confirmed by McKinsey · verified 23 Sep 2026
- MyConsultingCoach, McKinsey Solve Guide (updated June 2026) · updated June 2026 · read 23 Sep 2026
- StrategyCase, McKinsey Solve (updated September 2026) · updated September 2026 · read 23 Sep 2026
- Hacking the Case Interview, McKinsey Solve: The Complete Guide (updated June 2026) · first 2020-07-11, updated 2026-06-11 · read 30 Sep 2026
An 85-minute invitation reportedly means Redrock Study (35 min) + Sea Wolf (30 min) + Sustainable Futures Lab (20 min).
Several independent reports agree; not confirmed by McKinsey · verified 23 Sep 2026
Caveat: Start date reported as March 2026 by some sources and “early 2026” by others.
- MyConsultingCoach, McKinsey Solve Guide (updated June 2026) · updated June 2026 · read 23 Sep 2026
- Hacking the Case Interview, McKinsey Solve: The Complete Guide (updated June 2026) · first 2020-07-11, updated 2026-06-11 · read 30 Sep 2026
- MConsultingPrep, McKinsey Solve (Imbellus Game) overview · undated (2026 update) · read 30 Sep 2026
McKinsey’s FAQ: “No preparation is needed. Solve does not require previous business knowledge or gaming experience.”
Stated by McKinsey · verified 30 Sep 2026
- McKinsey & Company, Solve: McKinsey's Assessment Game FAQs (August 2025 PDF) · Aug 2025 (published 2025-09-19) · read 8 Oct 2026
McKinsey’s FAQ says that, except as a disability accommodation McKinsey has approved in writing, you may not “use applications, websites, AI tools, or pre-prepared notes” or “record or capture screenshots of any part of the assessment”, and that you take it “alone, without assistance from others”.
Stated by McKinsey · verified 30 Sep 2026
- McKinsey & Company, Solve: McKinsey's Assessment Game FAQs (August 2025 PDF) · Aug 2025 (published 2025-09-19) · read 8 Oct 2026

How Solve has changed, with dates

The short answer

What is McKinsey Solve?

The online game McKinsey uses to screen most consulting applicants before the first interview. You make decisions with data inside simulated natural environments: a research study, a set of contaminated ocean sites and, on longer invitations, an environmental team project.

McKinsey says every candidate gets different numbers, so memorized answers do not help. What transfers is method: knowing the screens, collecting only the data you need and pacing each game. McKinsey publishes no passing score; see how Solve is reportedly scored.

The gamesa one-minute walkthrough each

Three games, three clocks

Each specimen is a real DrillCase screen: two play their walkthrough, recorded from the product.

Specimen I · Game 1

DrillCase Redrock study screen: the field-notes runway above the 35-minute clock, Ecotopia study information with clickable figures, and five figures saved into the Research Journal on the right — Investigation phase · still

Data analysis

Redrock: a data study in three phases

Reported clock: 35 min
In DrillCase: 10 studies

Investigate a research question, save figures from text and charts into a Research Journal, answer quantitative questions with the on-screen calculator, then write a short report and choose a chart. Anything you did not save is hard to get back once you move on.

Field notes

Read the objective first, then save only figures a question could need
Rename journal entries so you can find them under time pressure
Keep minutes back for the report; it is part of the study

Practice advice from DrillCase, not McKinsey.

Can you use a calculator on Solve?

Specimen II · Game 2

Systems thinking

Sea Wolf: pick microbes for each site

Reported clock: 30 min
In DrillCase: 1 scenario, 3 sites

Each contaminated site lists target ranges for attributes such as permeability, mobility and energy, plus desired and undesired traits. You filter a pool of microbes and choose a set that fits. The trap candidates describe is the averaging rule: the site checks the average of your picks, not each microbe alone.

Sea Wolf averaging rule, worked examples

Specimen III · Game 3VIP

Decision making

Sustainable Futures Lab: judgment in a team project

Reported clock: 20 min
In DrillCase: 10 scenarios

Candidates report SFL on 85-minute invitations: a text-based scenario where you rank actions, then make a series of multiple-choice decisions as an environmental project develops. McKinsey has not published how it is scored. DrillCase has 10 SFL scenarios, from urban air quality to mangrove restoration, all in VIP.

What the Sustainable Futures Lab asks you to do

A practice plan

Three weeks from first look to test day

Week 1
Learn the screens
Two or three Redrock studies without watching the clock. Get used to the journal and the calculator.
Week 2
Work on the clock
Full studies at 35 minutes and Sea Wolf at 30. Note where the minutes go in each phase.
Week 3
Fix weak spots
Use each results screen and feedback PDF to pick the next scenario: reports, math or Sea Wolf ranges.
Last day
One calm full run
One full scenario the day before, then stop. Check your setup against the invitation's requirements.

Want Redrock, Sea Wolf and the Sustainable Futures Lab rehearsed on the clock? See Solve VIP →

Questions

McKinsey Solve FAQ

Free McKinsey Solve guides, by game

Redrock

Can you use a calculator on Solve?Rules

Sea Wolf

Sea Wolf microbe math: the averaging ruleWorked examples

Sustainable Futures Lab

What the Sustainable Futures Lab asks you to doGuide

The whole test

Redrock: a data study in three phases

Reported clock

35 min

In DrillCase

10 studies

Field notes

Read the objective first, then save only figures a question could need
Rename journal entries so you can find them under time pressure
Keep minutes back for the report; it is part of the study

Practice advice from DrillCase, not McKinsey.

Sea Wolf: pick microbes for each site

Reported clock

30 min

In DrillCase

1 scenario, 3 sites

Sustainable Futures Lab: judgment in a team project

Reported clock

20 min

In DrillCase

10 scenarios

Redrock: a data study in three phases

Sea Wolf: pick microbes for each site

Sustainable Futures Lab: judgment in a team project

Learn the screens

Work on the clock

Fix weak spots

One calm full run

Q01How long is McKinsey Solve?

Q02Is McKinsey Solve the same as the PSG?

Q03Which games are in McKinsey Solve now?

Q04What score do you need to pass McKinsey Solve?

Q05Can you retake McKinsey Solve?

Q06Can you prepare for McKinsey Solve?

Q07What does DrillCase include for Solve practice?

Q08Is DrillCase affiliated with McKinsey?

Free McKinsey Solve guides, by game

Redrock: a data study in three phases

Sea Wolf: pick microbes for each site

Sustainable Futures Lab: judgment in a team project

Learn the screens

Work on the clock

Fix weak spots

One calm full run

Q01How long is McKinsey Solve?

Q02Is McKinsey Solve the same as the PSG?

Q03Which games are in McKinsey Solve now?

Q04What score do you need to pass McKinsey Solve?

Q05Can you retake McKinsey Solve?

Q06Can you prepare for McKinsey Solve?

Q07What does DrillCase include for Solve practice?

Q08Is DrillCase affiliated with McKinsey?

Free McKinsey Solve guides, by game