CaseStar editorial team # How CaseStar researches its McKinsey Solve guides The McKinsey Solve guides are written and reviewed by the CaseStar editorial team. This page explains where the facts come from, how sure we are of each one, how often they are checked, and how to tell us when something is wrong. Facts last verified 24 September 2026. ## What McKinsey publishes and what candidates report McKinsey publishes a short description of Solve, its integrity rules and an FAQ. It does not publish the task screens, timings of every part, or how answers are scored. Everything beyond the official pages comes from candidates describing what they saw, so we label every format claim by how well it is supported: - **Official:** stated on McKinsey's own Solve page or FAQ. - **Reported** (shown as “Widely reported” in the change log): described in at least two independent candidate reports. - **Single report** (change log only): one account we could not yet corroborate. We show it so candidates know it exists, not as a fact. Durations, counts and the order of the games live in one shared fact list, so every guide, the simulator page and our machine-readable summaries state the same numbers. Worked examples in the guides are original CaseStar exercises, never copied assessment questions. ## Sources - [McKinsey: Solve assessment overview and integrity rules](https://www.mckinsey.com/careers/mckinsey-digital-assessment) - [McKinsey: Solve FAQ (August 2025)](https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/careers%20redesign/interviewing/getting%20ready%20for%20your%20interviews/faqs-solve-aug-2025.pdf) - [PrepLounge: “Didn’t perform well in Red Rock, did well in Sea Wolf”](https://www.preplounge.com/consulting-forum/i-didnt-perform-well-in-red-rock-study-mckinsey-solve-game-but-did-well-in-sea-wolf-what-are-my-chances-of-being-invited-to-an-interview-24245) - [PrepLounge: McKinsey Solve, June 2026, Paris](https://www.preplounge.com/consulting-forum/mckinsey-solve-game-june-2026-paris-25014) - [PrepLounge: Advice for McKinsey Solve](https://www.preplounge.com/consulting-forum/advice-for-mckinsey-solve-24831) - [PrepLounge: Advice to succeed on Redrock](https://www.preplounge.com/consulting-forum/advice-to-succeed-on-redrock-mckinsey-solve-17074) - [CaseStar: what changed in McKinsey Solve in 2026](https://www.casestar.io/guides/mckinsey-solve/what-changed-2026) (the dated change log, with a confidence label on every item) ## How often the guides are reviewed We re-check the shared fact list against the official pages and new candidate reports whenever the format is reported to change, and at least once a quarter. Each guide shows the date its facts were last verified; the current date is 24 September 2026. When a fact changes, it changes in the fact list first and every page that states it updates with it. ## How the practice data is built The [Red Rock practice data](https://www.casestar.io/guides/mckinsey-solve/red-rock-mistakes-data) page is built from CaseStar's own graded Red Rock sittings. It counts graded full or exam sittings with at least one scored answer, excluding sittings left open until the clock ran out (under 10% of marks). Test, quality-assurance and staff accounts are excluded, as are results whose account no longer exists. A figure is published only when at least 20 sittings stand behind it, and the page states its sample size and date range. The figures are free to reuse under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) with a link to that page. They describe practice on CaseStar, not McKinsey's scoring. ## How we check competitor offers Comparison pages describe other providers only from their own public pages: the product page, the pricing page and, where they publish one, their own guide. Each row links the pages it was checked against and carries the date of the check. When a provider's pages disagree with each other, we say so and cite both rather than pick one. We do not state ratings, pass rates or rankings a provider cannot be checked on, and we correct a row when a provider changes its offer. ## Corrections If a guide states something you believe is wrong or out of date, email [support@casestar.io](mailto:support@casestar.io) with the page and what you saw. We check the claim against the sources above, correct the fact list if needed, and update the verified date. ## Independence CaseStar (casestar.io) is an independent practice platform for consulting recruiting: timed McKinsey Solve simulators, including Red Rock, and voice case interviews. It is not affiliated with McKinsey & Company. Our simulators are practice tools built against the reported format. They are not McKinsey's software, and a practice score does not predict your Solve result. Your invitation and recruiter always take precedence. ## Guides covered by this method - [McKinsey Solve guide (2026)](https://www.casestar.io/guides/mckinsey-solve) - [McKinsey Red Rock Study guide](https://www.casestar.io/guides/mckinsey-solve/red-rock) - [Red Rock math](https://www.casestar.io/guides/mckinsey-solve/red-rock-math) - [Red Rock mini-cases](https://www.casestar.io/guides/mckinsey-solve/red-rock-mini-cases) - [McKinsey Solve score and decile](https://www.casestar.io/guides/mckinsey-solve/score) - [Red Rock vs Sea Wolf](https://www.casestar.io/guides/mckinsey-solve/red-rock-vs-sea-wolf) - [What candidates get wrong in Red Rock (data)](https://www.casestar.io/guides/mckinsey-solve/red-rock-mistakes-data) - [What changed in McKinsey Solve in 2026](https://www.casestar.io/guides/mckinsey-solve/what-changed-2026) - [Free McKinsey Red Rock practice, compared](https://www.casestar.io/guides/mckinsey-solve/free-red-rock-practice-compared)