I was recently given this exact test in an interview and am curious to learn how you would approach the same problem — and your thoughts on the test generally.
How It Works
- Read the information on this page.
- Create a blank jsFiddle.
- Spend no longer than 15 minutes developing a fully working game in the browser.
- When you're finished, post the link to your jsfiddle anonymously*.
- Share and discuss your experience:
- How did you approach it?
- What do you think the test tells the company about you?
- What does the test tell you about the company?
- Did you find it easy or difficult?
- Were there other approaches you didn't take that you considered for a while?
About The Test
- It's an internal prototype (customers won't see it).
- It matters more that you create a working game than it looking pretty.
- You can use frameworks or libraries if that's what you want to do.
- You can use a developer reference such as MDN.
- It's understood that what you would write normally compared to what you can produce in 15 minutes is likely to be very different.
If you're planning on giving it a try, of course, treat it as if you're in an interview room and you have a strict 15 minutes to produce something. The job is one that you want and the test lets you show the company the kind of code you write.
How The Game Works
The Game of Shells (also known as “The Shell Game”, “Thimblerig”, and “Three Shells and a Pea”) involves a flat surface, a row of three small containers and a ball small enough to fit underneath each of them.
On each turn of the game the player is shown the ball being placed under one of the containers before the order of the containers is repeatedly shuffled at random.
The player then has to guess correctly which container the ball is under in order to win, otherwise they lose.
* Posting Anonymously
My gut tells me that posting anonymously leaves nothing to gain or lose by putting forward an honest submission.
Having your name attributed may preoccupy you with what other people might think, spending longer than the 15 minute limit to produce something worthy of public attention, or not posting something at all because you're not proud of it for example.