# Challenges

> Run a day-by-day program — days that unlock in order, after a delay, by hand or by purchase — built from the same modules and lessons as a course.

Source: https://support.estage.com/community-challenges
Part of the ESTAGE Support help center (https://support.estage.com). Full knowledge base: https://support.estage.com/llms-full.txt

---

A **challenge** is a course organized into **days**. Each day holds its own modules and lessons,
and opens on a rule you choose: when the previous day is done, after a set time, when you unlock it,
or when the member holds the right tags. Use it for a 5-day kickstart, a 30-day program or a weekly
cohort.

Challenges live alongside your courses on the **Courses** page.

## Before you start

- **Be an admin, or hold the right permission.** Challenges use the same **Courses & challenges**
  permissions (**Create**, **Edit**, **Delete**) as courses in [roles](https://support.estage.com/community-roles).

## Creating a challenge

1. On **Courses**, click **Add course**.
2. Under **What type of course?**, choose **Daily Challenge**.
3. Fill in the rest as for a [course](https://support.estage.com/community-courses#creating-a-course) and click **Create**.

The challenge's card opens a grid of its days.

## Adding days

1. Open the challenge and click **New Day**.
2. Fill in **Add Day**:
   - **Title** and **Description** (up to 200 characters), and a cover.
   - **Unlock Day** — when this day opens (below).
   - **‘Mark as Complete’ Required** — members must mark each lesson done before moving on. An
     optional **Popup Message** tells them so.
3. Click **Create**.

Inside a day, add modules and lessons exactly as in a course — see
[Building the course](https://support.estage.com/community-courses#building-the-course).

### When a day unlocks

| Option | The day opens… |
| --- | --- |
| **After User Has Completed Previous Day** | once the member has completed every lesson of the day before |
| **Specified Time After Previous Day** | a set number of minutes, hours, days, weeks or months after the member started the previous day |
| **Admin Manual Unlock** | when you switch on **Unlock** — for everyone at once |
| **Only members with these tags** | for members holding the tags; others get the purchase modal or a redirect, like a paid course |

> **Note**
>
> Day 1 has no previous day, so it can only use **Admin Manual Unlock** or the tags option. It starts
> on **Admin Manual Unlock** with **Unlock** switched on, so members can open it straight away —
> switch **Unlock** off to hold the challenge back until launch.

When every timed day uses weeks — or every one uses months — the challenge calls them **Week** or
**Month** instead of Day.

## Editing and removing days

Each day's menu has **Edit Day** and **Delete Day**. Drag days by their handle to reorder them.

## What members see

There's no sign-up or start date — a member's clock starts the first time they open a day. A locked
day tells them why:

- that they need to complete the previous day (and remember **mark as complete**),
- that it opens when the admin unlocks it,
- a countdown to when it unlocks automatically,
- or that they must start the previous day first.

Cards in the grid show short hints such as **Locked by host**, **No access** or **Unlocks in …**.

## Things worth knowing

- **Timing is per member.** "Specified Time After Previous Day" counts from when *that* member
  started, so people who join late follow the same pace.
- **Admins can open every day**, locked or not, so you can check content ahead of members.
- **Manual unlock is for everyone.** Switching it on opens the day for all members at the same time
  — good for live cohorts.
- Challenges count toward the 100-course limit.