This time it's particle.
Years ago, the Higgs boson was discovered. Trapped. Studied. But now, with the help of a mysterious partner, he's on the run. Again.
Put your knowledge of particle physics to the test in this puzzle game. Decay muons, form nuclei, annihilate antimatter. It's all in a days work for, well, you. Playing this game.
Let me Play!
The game will be available soon on the web, for download on PC/Mac, and also on iPhone/Android.
The Syllabus
Release date - Summer Trimester 2023
The game counts as three science credits, and has no prerequisites.
This course will cover all the forces of the Standard Model of Particle Physics, including:
- Electromagnetism
- Nuclear Forces
- Weak Forces
- Strong Forces
And will give the players a working knowledge of all fundamental particles, such as:
- Leptons
- Quarks
- Bosons
- Hadrons
Chapter 1: Subatomic
- Electrons, Neutrons, and Protons
- Players will demonstrate knowledge of the Electric Force
Chapter 2: Nuclear
- Pions, Nuclei
- Lead safety gear will be required
Chapter 3: Antimatter
- Positrons, Antiprotons, and Antineutrons
- Students are advised to wear closed toe shoes during this portion of the class
Chapters 4 - 16: TBA
- Listen, I can't be expected to continue this joke indefinitely. Just play the game.
Each lab will count toward 5% of your grade, and the final exam will be a further 20%. If that doesn't add up, grades will simply be renormalized.
Wait, I remember this game...
You and 50 other people. I kid, I kid. But, wow, welcome back, it's been a while! The original Agent Higgs came out in 2012 -- and has since disappeared from the world (Higgs was *delighted* when that happened). This game is a direct sequel to the no-longer existent game. Because that's a good way for sequels to work.
The Physics
How accurate is the physics in this game? Well, it's a sliding box puzzle game, so let's be fair, I wouldn't use this to run important scientific simulations. But I did try to make the rules as accurate as possible in order to help players gain some knowledge and intuitions about how particles behave. And that's one reason I wanted to create this Higgs 101... to help folks learn more about how different pieces of the game do or do not reflect real world physics.
You can browse through the pages here to investigate a lot of the particle physics that's highlighted in the game, and I try to address the similarities and differences between this game and, well, reality. Or if you want to jump right into the thick of it, you can go take a look at all the things that are wrong. Or you can even go chapter by chapter.
Who am I?
This game was created by me, Andy Hall, the developer behind TestTubeGames. I was a momentary grad student in physics before leaving and getting into the world of science education. I worked for a handful of years at a science museum before starting to build science games and simulations. I can't guarantee everything in this game or these resources is accurate, but I can guarantee it is not all accurate. So that's something, right?