
                    January 1, 12:00 — 17:00 UTC

                    04:00 — 09:00 PST

New Year Contest

for Andrey’s friends

What’s coming?

To celebrate the New Year, I’m hosting a contest that anyone can participate in!

I recommend joining as a team of two — solving problems together is always more fun! You can register any time before December 31 — no rush.

Do I need to know how to program?

Yes — you’ll need programming. But no, this isn’t a Codeforces round or the ICPC finals; advanced algorithms aren’t required. On the other hand, knowing a depth‑first search never hurt anyone, right? Right?..

I’m not revealing the problem topics. But if you’ve ever played IPSC, Advent of Code, CodinGame, or Project Euler, you can expect something similar. Or not! It might also help to know what kinds of problems I personally enjoy. Or not :–)

If you didn’t take part in the New Year contest last year, you can read about what problems were there.

If the information above is enough, go ahead and register! If not, there’s a more detailed description below. If you still have questions, feel free to message me directly.

If you already have a key...

Registration

open until December 31

Your name *

Please register with your real first and last name. This is, after all, a friendly get‑together!

Your email *

No spam, of course. I’ll send important information and a reminder about the contest.

Second teammate’s name

I strongly recommend playing as a pair. If you’d like to play solo, leave this and the next field empty.

Second teammate’s email

Sign‑in key *

To sign in to the contest you’ll need a unique key. Fortunately, I can generate it from your sketch! Check out some examples and draw your sketch below.

Whether it ends up looking like the key to your house or like the key from The Secret Garden — that’s entirely up to you!

Who can participate?

Anyone! This year registration is open to everyone, so feel free to invite your friends and colleagues — it’s more fun together.

What kinds of problems will there be?

There will be several different, unrelated problems. I hope this will help you pick the ones you like most.

Each problem has multiple levels. Every level is a separate input set for the problem. The higher the level, the harder the problem becomes.

Can I use the internet, StackOverflow, and ChatGPT?

Absolutely yes! You can use anything to solve the problems. My only request is: please don’t use live help from people outside your team. I can’t really verify this, of course, but it will be more interesting for you that way.

Who prepares the contest and writes the problems?

I design the contest mechanics and write the problems myself. Not sure whether this knowledge will help you… or the opposite :–)

Why teams of two?

I believe each of us has that special someone we’d be happy to solve New Year’s Day problems with :–) Don’t deny yourself the pleasure — invite that person to your team.

Of course, if you really don’t know whom to invite, you can play solo. You can also register alone now and add a second participant later when you find one.

When exactly is the contest?

The contest takes place on January 1 and lasts 5 hours: from 12:00 to 17:00 UTC or from 04:00 to 09:00 PST (it’s too early, I know, sorry...). You can join later or leave earlier, but the problems will only be available during this time.

A couple of days before the contest I’ll send a reminder by email. There’s no need to prepare specially — just come here on January 1: 2026.andgein.ru.

Where can I see last year's problems?

You can see the descriptions of last year's problems (and solutions!) on the 2025 New Year Contest website. If you want to try to solve last year's problems, register using this link.

Will there be differences from last year’s contest?

Yes! For example, points will not be deducted for incorrect attempts. Also, all problems will be available right away.

Still have questions? Where to write?

Message me on Telegram @andgein or email me at andgein@gmail.com.

If everything’s clear, go ahead and register!