Imbellus continues to enhance the experience of McKinsey Solve Game by developing new and innovative challenges. Introduced in June 2024, Ocean Cleanup (later replaced by the Sea Wolf game) exemplifies the commitment to improving the interviewing experience. Designed to test candidates in dynamic and engaging ways, this new game evaluates problem-solving skills in a context similar to what McKinsey’s consultants actually work.
As McKinsey pushes the boundaries of their recruitment tools, Ocean Cleanup promises to be an exciting and impactful component of their selection process. Dive into this article to learn more about this newly released game.
Ocean Cleanup in a nutshell
Ocean Cleanup, as its name states, offers a fresh challenge centered around marine pollution. Applicants are required to select and combine various microbes to clean plastic from the ocean. Each of the available microbes possess unique traits such as heat resistance, pH and photosensitivity.
Game's objective is to devise the most effective microbial combination to tackle the pollution problem. This requires players to strategically analyze and manage microbes based on their characteristics, showcasing their problem-solving and analytical skills in a novel context.
The game is divided in two moments:
- Microbes selection: at this step, applicants are required to select 10 microbes among a pool of 20 options. It’s essential to understand which ones offer the best characteristics for the task.
- Microbes combination: now it’s time to combine 3 of the 10 chosen ones, that will bond chains and remove the plastic from the water. A caveat: the average of characteristics of the chosen 3 need to reconcile with the average of remaining 7 microbes.
Key facts about Ocean Cleanup
- Duration of the game: 20 minutes.
- Position: Ocean Cleanup comes after Ecosystem and Redrock games, as the third one.
Game status: replaced by The Sea Wolf
Ocean Cleanup served as a crucial beta testing phase for McKinsey's game development process. Following successful testing and user feedback, McKinsey officially replaced Ocean Cleanup with The Sea Wolf game in their current assessment lineup.
The Sea Wolf builds upon Ocean Cleanup's core concept but introduces significant enhancements:
- Extended gameplay duration (30 minutes vs. 20 minutes)
- Three progressive contamination sites instead of a single challenge
- More sophisticated microbial categorization system
- Enhanced scoring mechanisms with penalty structures
While Ocean Cleanup is no longer part of the active assessment, understanding its mechanics provides valuable insight into McKinsey's game design philosophy and helps candidates prepare for similar analytical challenges in The Sea Wolf.
Comparison with other Solve Games
Ocean Cleanup's legacy lives on through The Sea Wolf, but it's worth understanding how it fits within McKinsey's broader game ecosystem:
- Ecosystem Island: focuses on building sustainable food chains by selecting producers and animals from 39 species. Emphasizes resource balance and environmental sustainability through strategic species selection.
- Redrock Island: challenges candidates to optimize wildlife populations—especially wolves and elk—on a remote island using mathematical calculations and data analysis. It requires navigating a range of math problems (as we explained in Redrock’s math) to reach sustainable outcomes.
- The Sea Wolf (Ocean Cleanup's successor): expands the marine pollution concept across three contamination sites. Players must strategically categorize, select, and combine microbes while managing multiple attributes and traits under time pressure.
User experience and feedbacks
Early user feedback on Ocean Cleanup was predominantly positive, with players appreciating the innovative approach and the enhanced playfulness of the game.
Some testers have remarked that the tutorial introducing the game rules and goals might be unclear and harder to understand, especially in understanding the various microbial traits and their effective combinations.
Ocean Cleanup FAQs
We have curated some questions around the new game to further help you.
- What is the main objective of the Ocean Cleanup game? The game involves selecting and combining different microbes to clean plastic from the ocean, focusing on environmental problem-solving.
- What challenges do players typically face in Ocean Cleanup? Players might face difficulties while matching microbes according to their characteristics such as photosensitivity and pH.
- How can candidates prepare for the Ocean Cleanup game? Since Ocean Cleanup has been replaced by The Sea Wolf, candidates should focus on understanding the enhanced mechanics of the current game. Read our comprehensive Sea Wolf guide to understand the three-site structure and advanced strategies needed for success.
Preparing for The Sea Wolf
As McKinsey's assessment has evolved from Ocean Cleanup to The Sea Wolf, candidates benefit from understanding both the foundational concepts and the enhanced mechanics of the current Solve game. For those seeking comprehensive preparation tools, our Excel Solver for The Sea Wolf provides analytical support for optimizing microbial selections across the game's three-site structure.
