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Getting Started

If you have never done a capture-the-flag before, that is fine. Here a CTF is just a set of short review problems. Each one has an answer you submit, and a correct answer earns points. Points count toward the participation credit on Canvas, and wrong answers never subtract anything. It is a way to study for Midterm 1 that tells you right away whether you have the idea.

The two kinds of answer

  • Just the answer. Trivia questions take the answer itself: a word like comparator, a number like 3, or a short sequence like 2-5-6-9. The prompt states the exact shape. Capitalization does not matter.
  • A Write Code flag like CSCD211{...}. Those challenges link to code.jdoner.me: write the method, run it, and a correct run shows the flag. Paste it back exactly, braces and all.

A good way to work

  1. Read the prompt once all the way through.
  2. For a linked-list or trace problem, draw the boxes and arrows on paper.
  3. Work the problem, then submit. Most questions allow a few attempts, but a two-choice question gives you exactly one, so think before you submit.
  4. In every category, solving one challenge unlocks the next, easiest first. A category that looks short is just waiting for you to solve its first challenge.
  5. Move around. The categories match the sections of the midterm, so a weak category is where to spend your time.

Register with your EWU username and EWU email (that is how your points count for participation credit), solve Enter the Password with the password from class, then open the Challenges page. If linked lists feel shaky, or you have never written Java, start with Warm Up: each one walks one method in plain English and asks for a single line. When Warm Up feels easy, the 10 point questions in each category start the real midterm review, and each solve unlocks a harder one.