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News Games and Chemistry Teachers
Hank Green & Payton Mitchell
April 18, 2025
Hello!
The world is messy, and so I find it very easy to get distracted. One thing I did the other day was invent a new game. It's like Connections, but simpler and faster, and gives you more structure to build on when trying to find categories.
It's called 4x3 (for now, though I'm happy to take suggestions). The game is played on a 3x3 grid, but there are four categories of three. I know what you're thinking, "But Hank, a 3x3 grid is nine words, but four categories of three is 12 words! How is that possible?!"
Well, each category of three shares a SPECIAL word with all the other categories. So if the special word is "Mercury" then the four categories might be "mercury, iron, gold" (metals), "mercury, plant, bowie" (classic rock singers), "mercury, earth, venus" (planets), and "mercury, atlas, falcon" (rockets).
Maybe "Keyword" or something would be a better name than 4x3, since that's the actual thing that is the specific idea of this game.
I sketched this out on a piece of paper and then posted it on Bluesky and Threads. Immediately, I got people submitting potential game boards, and two people actually coded up simple versions of the game!! Now, of course, I don't think we've 100% locked in on the final form of the gameplay in either of these, but it has been so cool to go from an idea I had in a coffee shop to a real playable thing with multiple levels that fast!!
I think this is a somewhat tricky game to design levels for. I think it's very easy to create easy levels and very easy to create HARD levels, but very hard to create levels that are challenging enough to be fun, but not so hard that I get mad about it. Honestly, that's always been a pet peeve of mine with Connections. People are always complaining about it, but getting that balance right is extremely challenging. You have to be weirdly empathetic with a really broad understanding of the knowledge of the average person to be a puzzlemaster.
BUT! If you would like to send me some sample puzzles, please do! I want to play them! And if you've got thoughts on how the game should best be structured visually to be a great user experience, let me know that as well!
I, of course, do not have time to do any of this, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm still probably gonna be messing with it for a while!!
Hank
You can always email us at [email protected]
This Week in Stuff
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Please send us stuff you think we should feature to [email protected]
Japan’s cherry trees have been blossoming earlier due to warmer spring temperatures
Fiona Spooner
The peak flowering of cherry trees in Kyoto, Japan, has been recorded since the ninth century. Yasuyuki Aono and colleagues from the Osaka Prefecture University collated this data from historical diaries and chronicles, indicating the dates on which cherry blossom viewing parties had been held or other observations of peak blossom.
In 2025, the peak cherry blossom happened on April 4th.
This long-run data is a proxy measure for how the climate has changed. The onset of cherry blossoms is linked with warmer temperatures. Since the early 20th century, the combined effects of urbanization and higher temperatures due to climate change have gradually moved the peak blossom earlier in the year.
Our World in Data is a UK-based non-profit organization that publishes research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems. You can find more of their data insights here.
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Some Games to Play!
SpellCheck.xyc (by Answer in Progress)
This Gubbins postcard was made by Gia. Send yours to [email protected]
If you post your results on social media, we’d love it if you post a link for folks to subscribe to “We’re Here” (https://werehere.beehiiv.com/subscribe)
Moments of kindness
I've been spending a lot of time investing in a new community about an hour drive from myself. a lovely couple has taken us (me & life partner) into their circles & let us spend the night at their place when needed. They go out of their way to check on us and include us in things they do like game nights. It has been so lovely to be thought of, included, and loved.
We recently weathered an intense ice storm and 8 days without power. Watching my neighbourhood come together to support each other was amazing. My in laws in another city took my family in for several days and my Dad came with a generator and chain saw to help in the aftermath. My neighbours checked on our house and offered help with clean up. It was incredible!
My coworker noticed that I was scheduled to work on Easter Sunday and offered to take my shift because she doesn’t celebrate the holiday and knows that I do. Her generosity has reminded me to look out for ways to be kind to my coworkers, just like she was for me!
My friends Grandma died, and he sent me her entire yarn stash. To say thank you, I crocheted a snorlax for him using his grandmother's yarn. Snorlax is his special interest. Was both very happy to receive yarn and to make him a keepsake!
I surprised a coworker this morning with blue sticky tabs. His department uses them like crazy, and the whole office ran out of them the other day. So I bought, like, 800 in different shades of blue and put them on his desk this morning. I might print the Teams message that he sent me and keep it at my desk.
I lost the presser foot to my great grandmothers sewing machine. The local sewing/quilting store told me that, although nobody made presser feet like that anymore, she may have some in her dad’s old tackle box. She went to find them and then gave them to me for free. Crying just thinking about it!
My coworker, Tammy, donated all of her PTO to me while I undergo chemo, since my company limits what we can take. This led to several of my other coworkers to do the same. In a shitty situation, I'm so lucky to have people who care about me
One of my buddies recently has been working a lot of late nights or early mornings, and one thing he has a hard time doing is his dishes. The other week I went over to his place, put on some music, and washed his dishes while he cooked dinner.
Today, after spontaneously deciding to wander around Whole Foods in search of novelty snacks, a stranger (not an employee, but a plainclothes dad!), noticing I was laden with groceries, and not having had the foresight to grab a basket, just wordlessly approached and handed me one. Given that we were towards the back of the store in a random aisle, I have to assume that he just handed me his own.
Every spring a family in our neighborhood shares their daffodils. I await their invitation each year and bring my young daughters to cut some blooms with their kids scissor. A small meaningful kindness in dark times.
You made it to the end!
As Hank mentioned at the top of the newsletter, we’d love for you to try making a 4×3!
If making games isn’t for you, we’d love to know what your favorite web or mobile games are.
Send your game to [email protected]
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