arena

• SKILL.mdcore · 7,208 bytes

# arena

Run several independent attempts at one brief, judge them, and merge. Use it when a single attempt risks committing to the first structure that comes to mind: a design, an API, a hard function, a prompt, a document. The [`architect` skill](../architect/SKILL.md) calls it to produce design sketches.

If the job should be split into slices, or raced for the first success with one combined report, use the [`swarm` skill](../swarm/SKILL.md) instead. Arena gives every runner the same brief and merges what comes back. Swarm divides or races and reports.

Track a todo list with six items: frame, launch, judge, pick, graft, verify.

## 1. Frame

Every runner receives identical instructions, so the instructions are the job. Get them right before launching.

1. **Name the artifact.** Say exactly what each runner produces and in what form: "a module with these three public functions and tests", not "an implementation".
2. **Write the rubric.** Three to six criteria specific to this task, each something you can grade on its own. "Handles a partial write without corrupting the index" is gradable. "Good quality" is not. Runners never see the rubric. You and the judge use it. If the artifact touches a trust boundary, include a criterion for it, such as "untrusted input is parsed once, at the edge".