by Thomas Lin, Editor in Chief, Quanta, February 16, 2024
Explore a universe of numbers and arithmetic in our new and improved interactive math game, Hyperjumps!
It’s the year 2718. Humanity has invented a warp drive that enables a spacecraft to hyperjump to distant solar systems and back to Earth. The drive promises to revolutionize space exploration. But there’s a catch. The new technology can only make hyperjumps that follow the basic rules of arithmetic. Earth’s governing body has tapped you, an adventurous math explorer, to captain the first warp-drive-equipped starship in its fleet. Your mission is to discover and scout as many hyperjump routes as you can in a different solar system each day. Once these routes have been established, teams of scientists can safely follow in your footsteps.
Strapped into the captain’s seat, you sit in front of a console with eight blank digits, one for each exoplanet in the distant solar system. Each exoplanet has been assigned a hyperjump number. Your job is to input the numbers in a valid order—based on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division—making sequences at least three exoplanets long before you can take off. After each trip, you return to Earth to recharge your warp drive.
Your HOW TO PLAY manual explains how to construct a valid hyperjump sequence. Press the SEQUENCES button to see your completed sequences and how many are left to discover.
You’ll get one point for each exoplanet in every launched sequence. Launching longer sequences will automatically award you points for all the shorter sequences contained within them. As you accumulate points, you’ll level up from Novice to Cadet to Explorer to Master, and finally to Champion if you launch every possible sequence. A new game, with new exoplanet numbers, will begin each day at midnight eastern time. Log in and check MY STATS to view your historical Hyperjumps data.
Click here to start playing Quanta’s daily math game, Hyperjumps.