Molecule Racers
A little chemistry. A little chaos.LOCAL MULTIPLAYER
THE MOLECULAR SPRINT / VOL. 01

Small molecules.
Big race energy.

Draw a molecule. Give it a pair of eyes.
Let its own bonds do the running.

BRANCHES GALLOP. CHAINS CRAWL.STRAIGHT TRACK · ANYONE CAN WIN
STARTING LINE

Who's racing?

One screen. Take turns building, then race together.

60 seconds each · 8 carbon atoms · Reusable group cards

01 / BUILD YOUR OWN

Every bond belongs to you.

Grow a carbon chain, close a ring, or add branches. Reuse functional groups wherever a skeleton carbon has a free bond.

02 / LEARN TO UNLOCK

Know it. Name it. Use it.

Start with named cards. Then identify and name groups. After round 3, explore polarity on two column tracks.

03 / EMBRACE THE CHAOS

More groups. More go.

In naming rounds, each attached group adds 18% base speed. In the polarity lab, attraction to the column controls the exit order.

01
UNLOCK A GROUP

Name this group.

Identify the highlighted group to claim its card.
THE FIELD GUIDE

Build. Bond. Go.

1. Build: Select a carbon, then click empty space to add a bonded carbon. Click a group card, then a carbon to attach it. Selected atoms have a green ring. To close a ring, select its starting carbon, press Close ring, then click another existing carbon. Both atoms need a free bond.

2. Make branches: Select a carbon in the middle of your chain and grow in a new direction. Both carbon branches and attached functional groups become downward-facing legs. The body stays steady while its bonds push back, lift and reach forward. A chain with no legs contracts and extends like a caterpillar. Carbon nodes and zigzag bonds stay visible; rings stay closed.

3. Keep it legal: Carbon has four bonds, oxygen two, nitrogen three. Hydrogens are automatic. Undo restores your last edit and its materials.

4. Level up: Round 1 shows names. Round 2 uses multiple choice. Round 3 asks you to type. Unlock each card once, then reuse it. Round 4 explores a polar stationary phase; round 5 sends the same molecules through a nonpolar stationary phase. You can start at the polarity lab from the home screen. The build clock keeps running during questions.

5. Speed: In naming rounds, each attached functional group adds 18% to base speed, with no group-count cap. Random bursts still affect the result. In the polarity lab, stronger attraction to the stationary phase means a later exit. Both columns use the same unretained speed and no group bonus. Estimated affinity uses the whole structure: six group types, carbon connectivity, crowding and nearby groups. Nonpolar retention follows estimated lipophilicity; polar retention follows accessible hydrogen-bond interactions. A small ±2% pace variation allows close finishes; times within 4.5% share a place. The model assumes neutral molecules and fixed solvents, and also estimates structures absent from the reference set. Real separation also depends on solvent, pH and molecular structure.

Keyboard: Focus the workbench. Tab selects the next carbon (Shift+Tab exits). Arrow keys choose a direction, Enter adds carbon or attaches the selected group. In Close ring mode, Tab selects the destination and Enter joins it to the starting carbon. Close ring joins the selected carbon to another existing carbon. Delete removes a terminal carbon.