Two-Team Turn-Based Combat System

CodingOpenAILast reported September 2026High Frequency

Reported: 19× across candidate reports
First seen: October 2025
Last reported: September 2026
Reported outcome: mixed

Problem Overview

The round is one object-oriented problem with three graded parts and a spoken fourth, in 60 minutes on the phone screen. Nineteen reports make it one of OpenAI's most-asked coding questions. There is no algorithm in it. Candidates who finished only the second part have passed; the grading is on…

5 candidate-reported follow-ups — the exact probes interviewers asked, with the trigger for each
The rest of the problem statement — full requirements, constraints, and edge cases
Approach and trade-offs — what passing candidates did, and the mistakes that sink people

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Verified Source

Every question is reconstructed from multiple independent candidate reports. Verbatim follow-ups, not invented ones.

Codex Fact-Checked

Technical claims, formulas, and scale numbers are reviewed against primary sources.

Interviewer Follow-ups

The exact follow-ups reported by candidates, with the trigger that prompts each one — plus the mistakes that sink people.