Game Play Analysis I
A easy-tier problem at 76% community acceptance, tagged with Database. Reported in interviews at GSN Games and 0 others.
You're staring at a database problem from GSN Games, and it feels like it should be straightforward SQL. Game Play Analysis I is exactly the kind of warm-up that trips people up because the obvious query works, but the edge cases don't. With a 75.75% acceptance rate on an Easy problem, most people aren't failing because the concept is hard. They're failing because they misread the schema or write a query that runs but returns the wrong subset. If you blank on the exact filtering logic during your assessment, StealthCoder reads the problem schema in real time and surfaces a working solution invisible to the proctor.
Companies that ask "Game Play Analysis I"
Game Play Analysis I is the kind of problem that decides whether you pass. StealthCoder reads the problem on screen and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Invisible to screen share. The proctor sees nothing. Made by a working FAANG engineer who treats the OA the way companies treat hiring: as a game with rules you should know.
Get StealthCoderThis problem lives in the 'write a query that filters and aggregates the right rows' camp. You'll need to JOIN tables, GROUP BY properly, and nail the WHERE clause. The trap is usually one of two: either you return all games instead of filtering to a specific player or date range, or you forget that aggregate functions have different behaviors when rows don't match the filter. The database schema matters more than algorithm here. You're not implementing a data structure or recursion. You're reading a schema diagram, understanding the relationships, and writing SQL that respects those relationships. Most wrong submissions grab the right idea but aggregate over the wrong grain. If you've drilled basic SQL joins and GROUP BY, you can solve it in three minutes. If not, and you hit it cold during an OA, StealthCoder's hedge is a real working query you can adapt in seconds.
Pattern tags
You know the problem.
Make sure you actually pass it.
Game Play Analysis I recycles across companies for a reason. It's easy-tier, and most candidates blank under the timer. StealthCoder is the hedge: an AI overlay invisible during screen share. It reads the problem and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Made by a working FAANG engineer who treats the OA the way companies treat hiring: as a game with rules you should know. Works on HackerRank, CodeSignal, CoderPad, and Karat.
Game Play Analysis I interview FAQ
Why is an Easy database problem failing at 24% of submissions?+
Schema interpretation and row filtering account for most failures. Candidates often return too many rows or aggregate at the wrong level. The logic is simple, but reading the table structure correctly and applying the right WHERE clause separates passes from failures. It's a detail-oriented problem more than a conceptual one.
Is Game Play Analysis I still asked by GSN Games?+
Yes, GSN Games has multiple reports of this problem in their assessment pipeline. It's a core filtering and aggregation pattern they use to validate SQL fundamentals. Given the company's focus on gaming data, expect database problems like this one in their OA.
What's the actual trick to this problem?+
Correctly filtering by player ID and date range, then aggregating without accidentally including rows outside that filter. Most solutions fail because they apply the WHERE clause incorrectly or use a JOIN that pulls in extra rows. The trick is being precise about which rows you actually need before you aggregate.
Do I need to memorize the schema to solve it?+
No. The assessment will provide the schema. Your job is reading it carefully and building a query that respects the relationships between tables. Spend 30 seconds understanding the columns and keys before writing your first JOIN.
How does this relate to harder database problems?+
This is the foundation. Harder database problems stack multiple filters, subqueries, or window functions on top of the same core skill. Master filtering, JOINs, and GROUP BY here and you'll handle the Medium and Hard versions without panic.
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