TRIATHLON

Triathlon is a three-round technical event run as one connected game. Teams of 2–3 compete across a coding and computer-science quiz, a PC-building challenge, and a capture-the-flag puzzle hunt. Unlike a normal multi-round event, the rounds are linked: what a team earns in one round becomes a resource it spends in the next, so consistency across all three rounds decides the winner. There is no elimination — every team plays all three rounds and the scores are added up. The three rounds are: ● Round 1 – Coding & CS Quiz (25 min): a timed quiz on programming and computer-science fundamentals, including 'predict the output' and 'find the bug' questions and one question where AI-written code has a hidden mistake. The top 4 teams then play a live buzzer round. The Round 1 score sets each team's budget for Round 2. ● Round 2 – PC Build Fix & Adapt (60 min): teams are given a faulty PC parts list on PCPartPicker and must find and fix the mistakes. Midway through, the requirements change (budget or use-case) and teams must rework the build, then briefly justify their choices. The Round 2 score converts into hint points for Round 3. ● Round 3 – CTF Puzzle Hunt (50 min): a jeopardy-style set of cybersecurity puzzles — hidden messages, simple ciphers, web and forensics challenges, and one clue hidden on a poster in the CSE block. Each team gets team-specific flags so answers cannot be shared, a live scoreboard is projected, and teams can spend the hint points earned in Round 2. The team with the highest combined score across all three rounds wins. The tie-breaker is the time taken in Round 3.