Challenge types

Jeopardy-style CTFs are puzzle-based competitions where you solve self-contained challenges across categories like web, reverse engineering, or forensics. Each challenge has a point value based on difficulty. Solve it, get the points, move up the leaderboard.

Unlike attack/defend CTFs, there’s no live hacking or defense. Just the puzzle and your skills. You can solve challenges in any order, solo, or as a team.

For another attempt at describing what CTFs are and why you might want to participate in one, check out ctf101.org.

Next, we’ll break down common challenge formats and types: socket, web, reverse engineering, and forensics. Let’s dive in.