The last two places I interviewed with, there was none of this puzzling or challenges or problem solving. No warm up questions. No games, no rules. We just had introductions and then chatter about what I've done, the tools I've used, how I prefer to work, that kind of stuff. The second place didn't even ask to see any code even though I'd prepared to show them some and had my laptop open on the table. I presume both places trusted I know how to code and solve problems, since both offered a position and even tried to outbid each other.

I really liked this type of interview. It's not so much an evaluation of coding skill as it is a way to get to know the candidate.

With offers lined up, I turned down interview invites from other shops that were publicly complaining about talent shortage and simultaneously had a needlessly complicated & time consuming interview pipeline. I think companies are overthinking it.