Investigate
Read the system briefs, change the controls and measure the response. Use your 2,000 simulator steps per system to investigate the questions that matter.
September 22–30, 2026 · TorontoUnderstand the system.
Understand the system.
Predict what’s next.
Ten black-box simulators. A limited experiment budget. A week to turn careful research into models that can see further ahead.
An individual competition. Research with Gemma and submit your own forecasters.
Small interventions. Lasting effects.
THE RESEARCH
Learn by changing things.
You choose the experiments. Your models explain what follows.
Build a model
Use Gemma to interpret documents, compare hypotheses and develop code. Get your API key from Google AI Studio; Gemma calls do not spend simulator steps. Fit numerical models to the data you collect.
Forecast further
Upload one ZIP with the systems you’re ready to submit. Each forecaster predicts 4,000 steps from an initial observation and a future action schedule.
EXPLORE THE SYSTEMS
Ten systems. See what changes.
Move through the illustrations and try a different control in each.
Epidemic01 / 10
ProtectedInfected
How far will an outbreak spread?
Change initial protection, then watch infection move through a neighborhood.
Market02 / 10
Stock availablePurchases
Can supply keep up with demand?
Adjust buying activity and watch goods leave the market shelves.
Traffic03 / 10
Route ARoute B
Where does congestion build?
Change the signal split and watch queues form on two crossing routes.
Power grid04 / 10
Available reservesDemand
What happens when demand rises?
Increase demand to see stored reserves support a neighborhood.
Supply chain05 / 10
In transitDelivered
Will orders arrive in time?
Adjust dispatch speed and follow packages from the warehouse to the store.
Wildlife06 / 10
HabitatWildlife
How does habitat shape a population?
Restore habitat and watch the landscape support more wildlife.
Reservoir07 / 10
Stored waterReleased water
How quickly does stored water fall?
Open the outlet and watch water flow from the reservoir downstream.
Ad auction08 / 10
Your campaignOther campaigns
Who gets the next impression?
Raise a campaign’s bid to see it win more placements in a shared audience.
Social contagion09 / 10
Not reachedAdopters
Can an idea cross communities?
Increase bridge outreach and watch an idea move between two groups.
Hospital queue10 / 10
WaitingIn care
Can care keep pace with arrivals?
Adjust staffing and watch patients move from the waiting room into care.
Systems 1–2 of 10
Illustrations only. Controls and behavior are simplified, separate from the competition simulators and data.
HIDDEN EVALUATION40 × 4,000
episodes × forecast steps
for every system
Discover rules that hold
beyond your experiments.
Every participant studies the same underlying parameters and mechanisms. Evaluation changes the starting observations and intervention schedules, using the same initialization rules.
Hidden episodes cover sustained operation, action order, recovery spacing and combined controls. Your uploaded model forecasts the complete trajectory without further observations or network access.
Read the scoring rulesKEY DATES
Plan your research week.
September 2026 · All times are Toronto local time.
SEP22
Development opens
Start researching and submit models for public evaluation.
SEP28
Final submissions open
At 12:00 noon. Upload your final models explicitly; public submissions do not carry over.
SEP30
All submissions close
At 12:00 noon. Final standings follow at a successful sweep once selected evaluations finish.
The public leaderboard opens September 23 at 9:00 a.m. Toronto time. Subsequent standings are swept every six hours at midnight, 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. Toronto time; unfinished selected evaluations delay publication.
Three accepted uploads per system per day, shared across public and final submissions.
Start with your first question.
The kit includes the research client, system briefs and a numerical baseline.