Castaway Gauntlet
Run every Survivor puzzle on the site back to back and earn a castaway rating.
- Answer: four instinct questions, and your player archetype lands right away.
- Run: six puzzles back to back, each against the same par rule: the fewest moves that board needs, at six seconds a move.
- Score: earn a shareable castaway rating out of 100.
About this puzzle
The six challenges run in a fixed order, word scramble through tilt maze, each with a par time shown up front; the clock starts on your first move in each event. Beat par for a perfect event score of 100, slower finishes scale down, and skipping is always allowed but scores zero. Your castaway rating is the average across all six, broken into puzzle sense, wordcraft, steady hands, and patience.
Par is derived, not guessed, and it is the same rule everywhere: the fewest moves that exact board can be won in, at six seconds a move, rounded to the nearest fifteen seconds. Word scramble 1:30, Season 48 numbers 4:30, five-disc tower 3:00, slide puzzle 2:15, standing tree 1:45. The tilt maze counts ball drops rather than solving moves, so it has no move minimum and its 3:00 par is set by hand. That shared basis is what makes the four stat bars comparable: a 100 in wordcraft costs the same as a 100 in patience.
The archetype from the opening questions (strategist, social player, provider, or wildcard) is revealed as soon as you answer the fourth one, so you get half your result before the first clock starts. It also flavors your result screen and share line. It is a fun score from one puzzle run, not a real casting verdict.
Warm up first in the puzzle collection, see how a whole season could play out in the season simulator, or find your castaway twin in the which Survivor are you quiz.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Castaway Gauntlet?
A guided run through every puzzle on the site: the word scramble, the Survivor 48 number puzzle, the Tower of Hanoi, the South Pacific slide puzzle, the standing tree puzzle, and the 3D tilt maze, each against a par time. Four quick questions come first and hand you your player archetype straight away, before any puzzle starts. Your times then roll up into a rating out of 100 with stat bars for puzzle sense, wordcraft, steady hands, and patience.
How is the rating calculated?
Each challenge scores up to 100 based on your time against a par target: beat par and you take the full hundred, and slower runs scale down proportionally. Skipped challenges score zero. Your rating is the average across all six events. It is a fun model of one puzzle run, not a verdict on how anyone would actually do on Survivor.
What is par, and is it the same in every challenge?
Par is one rule everywhere: the fewest moves that exact board can be won in, at six seconds a move, rounded to the nearest fifteen seconds. That gives 1:30 for the word scramble (16 letters), 4:30 for the Season 48 numbers (about 45 inserts), 3:00 for the five-disc tower (31 moves), 2:15 for the slide puzzle (22 moves), and 1:45 for the standing tree (18 branches). The tilt maze is the one exception: it counts ball drops rather than solving moves, so it has no move minimum and its 3:00 par is set by hand. Because the rule is shared, a score of 100 costs the same effort in every event.
How long does a full run take?
The six par times add up to sixteen minutes, and a real run usually runs longer than par. There is no pause button within a challenge, but nothing stops you stretching between events, and you can skip any challenge you want. If you only have a minute, play a single puzzle from the collection instead.
Can I share or compare results?
Yes. The result screen builds a share line with your rating, archetype, and best event. Each individual puzzle also has daily boards and challenge links if you want head to head comparisons on identical boards.