Polymer Snake

Polymer Snake is a browser-based educational arcade game inspired by free-radical polymerization.

Control a growing radical chain, capture monomers, avoid inhibitors, and use chain transfer agents (CTA) strategically. Polymer Snake transforms key polymer chemistry ideas into a visual and interactive arcade experience.

How to Play

• Start the reaction by generating the initiator radical
• Capture monomers to grow the polymer chain
• Avoid inhibitors (Inh), which terminate the active radical chain
• Use CTA strategically to transfer the active chain
• Aim for a high score, high DP, and efficient product formation

Controls

• Arrow keys / WASD: Move
• Space: Start / Pause
• R: Restart
• M: Sound On / Off
• H: Help
• L: Reset local records

What You Can Learn

Polymer Snake introduces several important concepts in radical polymerization:

• Initiation
• Propagation
• Inhibition / termination
• Chain transfer
• Degree of polymerization (DP)
• Product formation trade-offs

The goal is not to reproduce every detail of real polymer chemistry, but to transform key ideas into a playable and intuitive game system.

Local Score Saving

Scores and records are saved locally in your browser. No global leaderboard is currently used.

This means your previous best score will usually remain available on the same computer and browser, but records may be lost if browser data is cleared.

Credits

Created by Prof. Jiun-Tai Chen National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), Taiwan jtchen@nycu.edu.tw