Here is a comprehensive walkthrough guide for the MECC 2022 Teams Finals case, “Horse,” provided by one of our faculty fellows, Dr. Chris McNeil. The case is available in your ExPrep account. Try it yourself, and if you get stuck, look for the solution in the videos. You can also watch how the teams attempted to solve the case during live battle.

LEVEL 2 – VERY EASY
In a three player game, with player 1 taking the first shot, who takes the Xth shot?
(now the possible answer options are “1”, “2” and “3”)
LEVEL 3 – MODERATE
The signs show whether each shot was made or missed.
🏀 – SHOT MADE
❌ – SHOT MISSED
In a two player game, how many misses did the first player have in the first twenty turns?
LEVEL 4 – MODERATELY HARD
The numbers show whether each shot was made or missed.
In a two player game, what is the first shot that results in a letter?
The first letter can either be assigned to player 1 or player 2.
LEVEL 5 – HARD
The numbers show whether each shot was made or missed.
In a two player game, how many shots until the game is over?
The game ends when either player is assigned 5 letters to spell HORSE.
LEVEL 6 – VERY HARD
Now you are playing with three players.
Recall that control passes to the next player whenever the prior player misses a shot (whether it results in a letter or not).
If the first player makes a shot and the second player duplicates the shot (also makes it), the third player must also attempt the shot.
If the third player makes the shot, the first player has control and takes a new shot. If the third player misses, the player is assigned a letter and the first player has control.
If the first player makes a shot and the second player misses the shot, the third player does not have to attempt that shot and has control to take a new shot.
In a three player game, how many shots until a player is eliminated?
A player is eliminated when they are assigned 5 letters to spell HORSE.
LEVEL 7 – VERY HARD
Now you continue playing with the three players.
A player is eliminated when they are assigned 5 letters to spell HORSE.
After that only 2 players remain in the game.
This means that further shots will be alternated between the 2 remaining players: e.g. P1 – P2 – P3 – P1 – P2 [P2 gets eliminated here] – P3 – P1 – P3 – P1 – P3 …
In a three player game, how many shots until 2 players are eliminated and the game is over?
LEVEL 8 – VERY HARD
Now you continue playing with 4 players.
A player is eliminated when they are assigned 5 letters to spell HORSE.
This means that further shots will be alternated between the remaining players:e.g. P1 – P2 – P3 – P4 – P1 – P2 [P2 gets eliminated here] – P3 – P4 – P1 – P3 – P4 – P1 – P3 [P3 gets eliminated here] – P4 – P1 – P4 – P1 – P4…
In a 4-player game, how many shots until 3 players are eliminated and the game is over?
LIVE BATTLE FROM THE MECC TEAM FINALS 2022
Here is a recording of live battle where four teams were working on solving this case:
The game was hosted by Jon Acampora and Oz du Soleil.
© 2022-2026 Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge. All rights reserved.