The Code Detective

Vol. ITHIS VERY MORNINGA bug-hunting gazette for grades 6–12

Mysterious Bugs Terrorize Local Codebase.

Chief Inspector Seeks Sharp-Eyed Recruits; Handsome Rewards Offered.

Full particulars from our correspondent, below.

Report for Duty.

Your Chief Inspector has a case number for you.

Open a Case File.

For the Chief Inspector running the room — every recruit plays on their own device.

Form 31 — Difficulty of the Docket
Form 32 — Cases on the Docket

How the Game Is Played.

Somewhere in this city, a program has gone wrong — and it has done so in public. Each round, the Chief Inspector pins a fresh case file to the board: ten to fifteen lines of honest Python, one seeded bug, and the very output the machine produced at the scene of the crime. Nothing is hypothetical. The crash you see truly happened.

For a fixed reading window, the evidence stands alone and submissions are locked. This bureau does not tolerate guess-and-check: read the wrong output, read the traceback, form a theory. Only then does the investigation open — three attempts, scored on the fewest attempts and the swiftest correct fix. A wrong theory earns a discreet hint; it never earns points.

Rookies and Detectives choose among four exhibits — candidate repairs, one genuine, three impostors. Inspectors enjoy no such courtesy: they type the repaired line themselves, on their own devices, while the board keeps the whole room honest. Five cases, a leaderboard between rounds, double points on the final edition, and a podium ceremony to close the night. Bring a sharp eye; the bugs certainly did.