Support Participants

Coach participants through the investigation without being a cybersecurity expert

Your job during the investigation is to encourage, point people to the built-in resources, and keep energy positive. KC7 handles the cybersecurity instruction. For the event flow, see Run event day.

What You Own and What You Don't

You own: a safe environment to make mistakes, pointing people to hints and tutorials, circulating to check in, celebrating discoveries, and managing time.

You don't own: teaching cybersecurity (the game does that), solving challenges, answering every technical question, or making sure everyone finishes. Learning happens all the way through, wherever someone stops.

Give Hints Without Spoilers

Escalate gently, one step at a time:

1. Redirect to resources. "Have you tried the hint button?"

2. Ask a guiding question. "What columns of data do you have?"

3. Give strategic direction. "This challenge is about patterns in the timestamps."

Instead of answering, ask a question back: they ask "How do I filter this?", you ask "What are you trying to find?"

Never give exact answers or syntax. Guide them to the built-in hints or a peer.

What to Say

Situation	What to say	What to avoid
"I'm completely stuck."	"Have you tried the hint button? What have you tried so far?"	Giving the answer
"Is this answer right?"	"What makes you think that? Try submitting and see."	Confirming from their screen
"I don't understand this."	"The game explains concepts as you hit them. Try reading the challenge again."	A technical explanation
"This is too hard."	"These are meant to be challenging. Getting stuck is part of learning. Try a hint."	Agreeing, or comparing them to others
"I'm finished. What now?"	"Did you try the bonus challenges? Want to help others without giving answers?"	Letting them disengage

For a struggling participant, normalize it ("This one stumps almost everyone"), shift focus to what they've already learned, and offer a fresh start ("Grab water and come back"). "You haven't figured it out yet" keeps the door open. For an advanced one, deepen the thinking ("Can you explain why that works?") or invite them to peer-teach.

Energy Check-Ins

Three group nudges during the event:

30-45 min: "Great progress on the scoreboard. Reminder that there are built-in hints if you get stuck."

60 min: "About halfway. Feeling stuck is normal. These are designed to make you think. Use those hint buttons."

Final 30 min: "Thirty minutes left. If you haven't finished, that's normal. Focus on the challenges you find most interesting."

When to Step in vs Let Them Struggle

Healthy struggle is 5 to 10 minutes of active thinking. Step in when frustration turns to disengagement, they've been stuck 15+ minutes with no progress, they're unaware of a resource, or tech is blocking them.

By Format

In-person

Circulate constantly, crouch to eye level when helping, and use group announcements for common issues. Check in with struggling participants privately, and mix skill levels at tables.

Virtual

Host Tools

Check the live scoreboard every 15 to 20 minutes (not constantly) for group progress, and the analytics dashboard for which challenges are hardest. Use both for general guidance, not to single people out.

Technical Issues

Specific fixes are in the Troubleshooting guide. In the moment: stay calm, try a quick fix (refresh, different browser, clear cache), escalate to support if needed, and keep everyone else engaged.

If KC7 is loading and accepting answers, it's working. The difficulty is intentional.

Finishers and Stallers

Celebrate early finishers and invite them to help others or explore bonus challenges. Reassure those still working that not finishing is normal. Their account saves progress, so they can continue anytime.

Related Pages

• Troubleshooting guide

• Event FAQs

• Get help