Each new check uses one action. Reading it again is free.
Use the tools to collect evidence. Diagnose the cause, choose a repair, then verify it worked. You have eight investigation actions.
No DNS experience needed. Hints are always available.
Open the case to begin your investigation.
A new check costs one action. Wrong diagnoses or repairs cost two. A hint costs one action and 150 points. Two essential checks, no errors and no hint earn three stars; extra checks help you learn but reduce the score.
All chapters are available for classes and practice. Campaign stars stay in this browser. The daily challenge is shared by everyone and changes at midnight UTC; cases repeat across days.
Pick from these approved words. No free-text names or personal details appear on the leaderboard.
Changes apply to your next run. Callsigns are shared nicknames, not unique accounts.
This challenge
Best replay-checked score per callsign. Replays check game rules, not player identity or unaided learning.
These bounded, offline scenarios teach the roles of clients, recursive resolvers and authoritative servers. Domain names are fictional props here; no requests are sent to them. IP examples use documentation ranges.
Real resolvers can start from cached delegations, retry multiple servers, prefetch, validate DNSSEC and apply policies not modeled here. A DNS response does not guarantee that a website or mail service is healthy.
Packet Quest’s walking courier, congestion and move score are game mechanics. Each delivery represents a separate DNS question, reply, or return of control after a timeout. The resolver chooses the next query. TTL waits in detective cases advance simulated time, never all global caches.
Progress and stars are self-reported practice records, not certification or proof of learning. For a class, ask learners to explain the evidence and predict a different scenario.
