How BugArena Works
A 5-minute walkthrough for new testers. Learn how to find planted bugs, write reports that count, and start earning XP from your first arena.
The 4-Step Loop
Pick an Arena
Browse arenas by skill (web, mobile, API, accessibility) and difficulty. Each arena is a fully functional fake product with planted bugs hidden across the UI and flows.
Hunt the Bugs
Explore the app like a real user. Click everything, try edge cases, break flows. The split-screen layout shows the product on the left and your scratchpad on the right.
Write a Valid Report
Submit each bug with a clear title, reproduction steps, expected vs actual behavior, and severity. Gibberish, jokes, or vague reports are auto-rejected.
Earn XP & Rank Up
Valid bugs that match planted defects award XP based on severity and uniqueness. Climb tiers from Rookie to Legend and feature on the global leaderboard.
Anatomy of a Valid Bug Report
Reports are validated automatically. Lazy or fake submissions are rejected and don't count toward your score.
- Title
- Cart total ignores promo code on second item added
- Steps to Reproduce
- Add 'Blue Hoodie' to cart
- Apply promo code SAVE10 — total updates correctly
- Add 'Red Cap' to cart
- Observe cart total
- Expected
- Total reflects 10% discount on both items.
- Actual
- Discount only applies to the first item; second is full price.
- Severity
- High
"asdfasdf"Gibberish — not a real description"it broke lol"No steps, no expected/actual"Bug everywhere"Too vague — what bug, where?"Button is ugly"Subjective opinion, not a defect
Pro Tips
Test edge cases
Empty inputs, max-length strings, special chars, double-clicks, slow networks. That's where planted bugs hide.
Speed matters
Faster valid submissions earn time bonuses. But quality > speed — invalid reports cost XP.
One bug per report
Don't combine multiple defects. Each unique bug = its own submission and its own XP.
Anatomy of an Arena
When you drop into an arena, the screen splits into three working zones.
Mock app
A fully interactive fake product (checkout, banking, POS…). Click everything — bug hotspots are real interactive elements.
Lock-on crosshair
When you click a planted bug hotspot, the crosshair locks on, the area pulses, and the bug becomes 'pending' for submission.
Submission form
Write your title, repro steps, expected vs actual, and severity. Submit while a bug is locked on to claim XP.
Severity & XP Scoring
Pick the severity that matches the impact. Mismatches reduce XP.
| Severity | When to use | Base XP |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Data loss, auth bypass, production outage, security exploit. | 180–250 |
| High | Broken core flow (checkout, login). Most users blocked. | 90–160 |
| Medium | Functional bug with workaround, edge-case logic error. | 40–80 |
| Low | Cosmetic, minor copy, non-blocking UX papercut. | 10–30 |
Speed bonus
Submit within 25% of the time limit → +15% XP.
First blood
First valid report on a fresh arena → +50 XP one-time.
Penalty
Invalid or duplicate reports cost −10 XP and lower accuracy.
Keyboard Shortcuts
FAQ
Ready to hunt?
Jump into your first arena. The Rookie ones take ~10 minutes and have 5 planted bugs.