Plant Defense simulation
Grove Defense is our timed simulation of the retired Plant Defense format. Protect a sapling at the center of three grids by placing defenders and terrain on turns 1, 6 and 10.
What the Plant Defense is
Plant Defense was a turn-based module from the earlier Problem Solving Game. The Redrock Study replaced it, so current invitations do not include it, but older guides still describe it.
You protect a native plant at the center of a grid while waves of invaders walk toward it along drawn paths, one square per turn. At set planning turns you place defenders, each with its own reach and damage, and terrain that blocks or slows invaders. Maps 1 and 2 end at turn 15; map 3 continues for bonus turns. Prep sources agree on the grid sizes, the 15-turn rule and the pieces; ours use their reported numbers as our own rules.
How our simulation runs
- An untimed briefing explains the turn order, the pieces and the tactics that hold a map.
- Map overview: the grid (10×10, 14×10 or 12×12), the invader paths and a table of every wave’s entry and hit points.
- Turn 1 window: place defenders and terrain for the next five turns, then watch the board run turns 1–5.
- Windows on turns 6 and 10 let you add pieces for the waves that follow.
- After turn 15 the board fast-forwards on its own; map 3 runs on to turn 25 for bonus turns. Each map has its own 12-minute clock inside one 36-minute module clock; time spent reading map overviews counts against the module clock.
- Review: whether the sapling survived turn 15 on each map, a turn-by-turn replay of your board, and a worked ring placement.
Start the simulation
Each card shows your account’s access.
Every mode, including the full sittings and the untimed warm-up drills, is on the McKinsey Solve practice page.
Grove Defense walkthrough
- ✿Sapling
- ⇢Entry
- Path
- Blocked / boulder
- Gravel
- Thicket
- LyDefender (Bd, Ly, Ow)
- ●Burrower
- ◆Runner, with hit points
Grove Defense · Plant Defense format
- Three maps (10×10, 14×10, 12×12): a sapling at the center, invaders walking the drawn paths one square per turn.
- Place defenders and terrain in windows on turns 1, 6, 10, with a limited supply per map; the board runs between windows and on its own after turn 15.
- One check per map when the sapling stands after turn 15; map 3 adds bonus turns. The review replays every turn and shows the ring placement beside yours.
Example board shown; your maps are generated for your sitting.
Plant Defense questions
What was Plant Defense in McKinsey Solve?
A turn-based module from the earlier Problem Solving Game, in which you protect a plant at the center of a grid from waves of invaders by placing defenders and terrain. The Redrock Study replaced it, and current invitations do not include it.
How long was Plant Defense?
Reports put it at about 12 minutes per map across three maps. Grove Defense gives each map its own 12-minute clock inside one 36-minute module clock, after an untimed briefing. Time spent reading map overviews counts against the module clock.
What is free?
Your first Grove Defense attempt is free with an account, and the walkthrough on this page needs no account. A McKinsey Solve pass covers replays of every module simulation and the 65-, 85- and 95-minute full sittings, and saved reviews stay free.
What does the review show?
For each map, whether the sapling survived turn 15, the bonus turns reached on map 3, and a turn-by-turn replay of your board with every hit and move. A worked ring placement shows a defense that holds the map.
Game Assessment Prep is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by McKinsey & Company. Solve, Plant Defense and McKinsey’s other module names are referenced to explain the format; our content and scoring are original. No actual assessment questions or proprietary interface assets are reproduced.