Skip to content

Contest Playbooks

Contest playbooks are the track-specific operating manuals of this repo.

Use them when you already know some core topics and now need answers to questions like:

  • what does this contest format actually reward?
  • how should I practice for it with the assets already in this repo?
  • what should I do before, during, and after a contest?

This folder is freshness-sensitive content.

  • last reviewed: 2026-04-25
  • official or primary sources were rechecked during this pass

What This Folder Is For

Open a playbook when:

  • you want a contest-format-specific training loop
  • you want to know which repo pages matter most for one track
  • your bottleneck is no longer "learn one topic", but "convert knowledge into results under that format"

Do not open this folder first if you are still learning core syntax or first-exposure algorithms.

Go to:

  • Start Here if syntax or local workflow is still shaky
  • Ladders if one topic family is still unstable
  • Build Kit if implementation trust or local testing is the real bottleneck
  • Topic Maps if you need broader external study references
  • Contest Engineering if the issue is contest-time process rather than topic depth

first.

Track Chooser

Track Optimizes for Practice mode Biggest failure signal Best first repo asset
USACO solo implementation, steady division progression, clean local testing archive-first, topic ladders, timed solo blocks you solve ideas after contest but miss easy implementation points during it C++ Language
Codeforces short-round shipping, anti-hack discipline, and clean upsolve loops short simulated rounds, validator-first clinics, fast review blocks you often know the family after the round, but miss live solves to pacing, hack fear, or weak hardening Contest Engineering
IOI / OI deep modeling, proof confidence, partial-score planning fewer tasks, deeper review, subtask-first thinking you see the full idea too late or throw away safe partial points Reasoning
ICPC breadth, switching, team workflow, one-machine execution mixed rounds, live triage, notebook retrieval your team burns time on one hard problem or loses solves to bad handoff/debug loops Contest Engineering

Start Today

If your current format target is... Start with
solo progression with archive problems USACO
short rounds with hacks, rejudge pressure, or fast upsolve loops Codeforces
partial scoring and proof-heavy tasks IOI / OI
breadth, switching, and one-machine teamwork ICPC

Track Drill Index

Use this table when you want one executable drill instead of more prose.

Track First drill Use when If it breaks, reopen
USACO Solo Archive Block 01 in USACO you want a clean timed solo block with explicit post-contest review Foundations ladders, Problem Finder, or Local Judge Workflow
Codeforces Codeforces Short Round 01 you want one short simulated round with banker-first shipping, anti-hack passes, and a precise upsolve route Codeforces Upsolve Worksheet, Anti-Hack Workflow, or Problem Finder
IOI / OI IOI Checkpoint / Score-Path Drill 01 you need to practice safe-point collection before gambling on the full solve Reasoning, Stress Testing Workflow, or DP ladders
ICPC ICPC Modeling Under Pressure 01 you want a repeatable opening model, priority board, and one-machine-ready handoff Mixed Rounds, Contest Engineering, or Build Kit

Contest-Source Clinics

These are not full track playbooks yet. They are source-family clinics mined from contest ecosystems that reward one distinctive operating habit.

Source lane Start with Use when If it breaks, reopen
Google archive lane (Code Jam / Kick Start) Code Jam / Kick Start Analysis-First Clinic 01 you keep seeing the idea only after the official analysis because the small -> large bridge never became explicit Reasoning, Binary Search, or Digit DP
Google / archive numeric robustness Precision / Formatting Robustness Clinic 01 accepted-looking numeric output still leaks to the wrong arithmetic regime, premature rounding, or brittle final formatting Foundations cheatsheet, C++ Language For Contests, or Code Jam / Kick Start Analysis-First Clinic 01
Distributed Code Jam archive-style decomposition Distributed Decomposition Clinic 01 you want to practice split -> summarize -> merge without opening a full distributed platform first Graph Modeling, Subtree Queries, or Reasoning
Cross-track interactive protocol Interactive Protocol Clinic 01 you keep losing interactive tasks to flush, budget, transcript, or stop-condition leaks even when the idea is mostly known Local Judge Workflow, Contest Checklist, or Codeforces
Topcoder marathon / heuristic bridge Heuristic / Marathon Intro you want the operating model for score-based, open-ended contests before the repo has a full heuristic lane Algorithm Engineering, Many-Valid-Answers / Validator-First Workflow, or Petrozavodsk / OpenCup Hard Mixed 01
Topcoder one hard problem Topcoder One-Hard-Problem Clinic 01 one hard slot keeps eating the whole session even when the topic is mostly known Topcoder Weird-Task Clinic 01, Reasoning, or the corresponding advanced ladder
Topcoder weird statement surfaces Topcoder Weird-Task Clinic 01 the wrapper looks exotic enough that you never stabilize the object model Graph Modeling, Constructive, or Counting Geometry

Shared Repo Kit

Every mature playbook should route through the same repo layers:

Layer Main job Best shared doors
topics/ teach the reusable idea Learning Areas
practice/ladders/ sequence one subtopic on purpose Ladders
docs/problem-finder choose the next concrete problem set quickly Problem Finder
practice/mixed-rounds/ retrieval and switching after topics are known Mixed Rounds
notebook/ short contest-time recall Notebook, Contest Checklist
templates/ reusable code you can retrieve on demand Template Library
workflow pages exact operational loops Many-Valid-Answers / Validator-First Workflow, Special Judge / Output Protocol Workflow, Local Judge Workflow, Stress Testing Workflow

Open This Next

If today's question is... Open
what should I practice next? Problem Finder
what format am I training for? one track page below
what do I reopen during implementation? Build Kit

Playbook Contract

Every contest playbook page should answer:

  1. What does this track reward?
  2. Who should use this page right now?
  3. What are the 3-5 highest-payoff skills to optimize?
  4. Which repo assets should I open first?
  5. What is my default training rhythm?
  6. What should I do before, during, and after a contest?
  7. What failure modes are most common in this format?
  8. How do I know I am ready to move up or change training mode?
  9. Which drill or worksheet should I run next?

Canonical section set:

  • Track Snapshot
  • Who This Is For
  • What To Optimize
  • Repo Route
  • Training Rhythm
  • Before A Contest
  • Drills / Worksheets
  • During A Contest
  • After A Contest
  • Common Failure Modes
  • Failure -> Next Repo Door
  • Progress Markers
  • References And Repo Anchors

Current Track Playbooks

  • USACO: solo archive-based progression with strict contest-conduct rules
  • Codeforces: short-round operating manual for shipping, anti-hack, validator-first construction, and upsolve discipline
  • IOI / OI: proof-heavy partial-scoring workflow
  • ICPC: team contest operating manual for breadth, triage, and one-machine execution

Current Source-Family Clinics And Intro Pages

Good Pairings

  • if a playbook says "your retrieval is the bottleneck", reopen Notebook
  • if it says "your topic depth is the bottleneck", reopen topics/
  • if it says "your switching is weak", reopen Mixed Rounds
  • if it says "your process is weak", reopen Contest Engineering

Research Notes

This layer was refreshed against official or primary pages on 2026-04-25.

Shared sources used for this pass: