Testsolving is pre-release solving by people who didn't write the puzzle or hunt, catching broken paths, unfair clues, difficulty spikes, and bad meta interfaces.
Responsibilities
- Log full paths, branches, timing
- Flag ambiguous or unfair cluing
- Meta pass: are feeders sufficient?
- Hint recommendations
- NDA — no leaks
With [[construction|construction]]
- Revise from reports; big changes → re-testsolve
- Staged: puzzle → round → full hunt
- Track revisions for post-hunt notes
Scale
- Small hunts: 3–5 solvers with varied skills
- Large hunts: per-round owners + dedicated meta tests
- Simulate target team size (~4)
Wiki & Plog
Document process, not unreleased content; post-hunt discussion in folds on hunt articles.