Zigzag Grid Traversal With Skip
A easy-tier problem at 64% community acceptance, tagged with Array, Matrix, Simulation. Reported in interviews at tcs and 0 others.
You're walking a grid in a zigzag pattern, skipping cells on the way. It sounds simple. It's not, because the skip logic breaks most people's first attempt. TCS has asked this, and it's exactly the kind of problem where you nail the pattern in prep but choke live because you miscounted directions or forgot to track the skip state. The grid is small, the rules are clear, but the execution trips up candidates who've never seen the specific zigzag-with-skip combo before. If this one shows up in your assessment and you blank on the traversal order, StealthCoder surfaces a working solution in seconds, invisible to the proctor.
Companies that ask "Zigzag Grid Traversal With Skip"
Zigzag Grid Traversal With Skip is the kind of problem that decides whether you pass. StealthCoder reads the problem on screen and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Invisible to screen share. The proctor sees nothing. Built by a senior engineer who knows the OA is theater. This is the script.
Get StealthCoderThe trick is that zigzag traversal alternates direction row by row: left-to-right, then right-to-left, back and forth. Add a skip rule on top and most candidates either lose track of direction mid-solution or apply the skip inconsistently across direction changes. The common failure is hardcoding one direction, or skipping in one direction but not the other. You need a clean state machine: track your current direction, know when to flip, and apply skip logic consistently regardless of whether you're going forward or backward. The skip itself is usually a modulo or counter that repeats at a fixed interval. Simulation problems like this reward clarity over cleverness, but the clarity has to be bulletproof. If you've drilled matrix traversals but never seen zigzag-with-skip in that specific combination, StealthCoder is your hedge for the live OA moment when you realize you've been building the grid wrong for the last five minutes.
Pattern tags
You know the problem.
Make sure you actually pass it.
Zigzag Grid Traversal With Skip recycles across companies for a reason. It's easy-tier, and most candidates blank under the timer. StealthCoder is the hedge: an AI overlay invisible during screen share. It reads the problem and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Built by a senior engineer who knows the OA is theater. This is the script. Works on HackerRank, CodeSignal, CoderPad, and Karat.
Zigzag Grid Traversal With Skip interview FAQ
Is this problem actually easy, or is the difficulty rating off?+
The acceptance rate is 63.5%, which is honest for an easy problem. It's not algorithmically hard, but the zigzag direction flip plus skip logic creates enough friction that many candidates mishandle the state tracking on first try. Easy means the concept is doable, not that it's trivial under live pressure.
What's the main trap in zigzag-with-skip problems?+
Losing track of direction after you skip a cell. Candidates often skip correctly in one direction, then forget the skip applies to the next direction too, or apply it asymmetrically. The skip counter and direction state need to be tracked independently and checked at every step.
How does this relate to standard matrix problems I've drilled?+
It's matrix simulation plus state management. If you've solved spiral matrix or zigzag print, you know the directional flipping. This adds a conditional skip rule that interrupts the flow. The new skill is weaving skip logic into the directional state machine without breaking either part.
Why did TCS ask this instead of a classic array problem?+
It tests both pattern recognition (zigzag traversal) and implementation discipline (skip logic). TCS values candidates who can write clean, stateful simulations without off-by-one errors. It's not about a deep algorithm; it's about careful coding.
What's the fastest way to code this live?+
Write the zigzag loop first with direction flipping, then bolt the skip condition onto the cell-visit check. Trace through a small grid (3x3) by hand before you submit. Mistakes here are off-by-one or direction-flip errors, which hand traces catch instantly.
Want the actual problem statement? View "Zigzag Grid Traversal With Skip" on LeetCode →