Chemistry For Beginners Guide
Written by Debra Lenik
Chemistry For Beginners isn’t really a popular game. It’s not very fast-paced,
it doesn’t win you a lot of np, and besides that, no one really remembers it.
But if you’re looking for a challenge, it’s a good place to go. It takes some
time to play, but I personally find it a very soothing way to earn a moderate
bit of np - much better than kau-johng, for instance.
Once you get past level five, you have the option to start at level six when you
play, but you miss out on the scoring opportunities of the first five levels,
which are quite easy—therefore I suggest you start at level one. However, it can
get boring putting together two atoms at a time, so do what suits your mood.
The point of the game is to make molecules out of the atoms you are given. There
is no time limit, but you have a certain number of atoms per level. If you
haven’t reached the level-up score necessary by the time you run out of atoms,
it’s game over. In the beginning, this isn’t a problem, but you need to be
extremely careful in the later levels.
At level seven, you learn about unstable compounds. For example, four slothite
(red) atoms together cause the board to explode and you to lose. Because of
this, and because of the various score combinations you can get, the most
important thing you need to do is examine the board carefully both before you
begin and as you are placing atoms. Often, molecules are already set up in the
right position for a molecule, and all you need to do is add the correct color.
However, certain combinations are worth more than others, so in order to make
the best use of your limited molecules, you should ensure that you are focusing
on the higher ones. This becomes a puzzle once you start accumulating different
molecule types. For instance, the combination green-blue-green is worth 2
points, but the combination green-blue-green-blue-green is worth 6. You need to
strategize the atoms’ placement so that they aren’t prematurely counted as the
lesser combination—that is, you can set up green-blue-space-blue-green, and then
fill the space with a green to get the combo. The same goes for blue-blue-blue
(2pts.) and blue-blue-blue-blue-blue (4pts.). Later, 7 reds in a row nets you a
whopping 10 points, but you need to set it up so that four reds never touch. The
only way to do that is to set up three reds on either side before placing the
middle atom (red-red-red-space-red-red-red).
There aren’t any cut-and-dried solutions to Chemistry for Beginners, but if you
aim to get as many points as possible for each atom placed, you will be able to
get the points you need to advance levels. Be patient, watch your preview window
(where you can see the next four atoms available), and plan accordingly. If you
have trouble making it through a level, keep practicing until you are able to
recognize which placements are getting you the most points and which ones are
losing you the crucial few. Try not to waste atoms—if you don’t know where to
put them, try to put them somewhere where they’ll be useful later, WITHOUT
accidentally making a lower compound! Once you make it through the higher levels
(14 and 15) I suggest you try for a trophy and the high score table!
NAMES/POINT VALUES OF MOLECULES
Neopium: green
Tyrannium: blue
Slothite: red
Faeryllium: gold
Krawkite: silver (introduced in level 14, where they take up several of your
maximum atoms.)
green-green 1pt
green-blue-green 2pts
blue-blue-blue 2pts
blue-blue-blue-blue-blue 4pts
green-red-red-green 4pts
green-blue-green-blue-green 6pts
green-gold-gold-gold-green 7pts
red-red-red-red-red-red-red 10pts
silver-silver 2pts
UNSTABLE MOLECULES
red-red-red-red
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