Organic synthesis game

The organic synthesis game (aka Grand Theft Orgo) is being developed to help students in introductory organic chemistry courses learn techniques for synthesis design. This includes getting students acquainted with the reagents, the reactions and overall synthetic strategies.

Organic synthesis

In organic synthesis, the goal is to prepare a target molecule from a starting material (or several starting materials) and a set of reagents. At the introductory level, this usually involves only a few steps, as in:

Each transformation is referred to as a chemical reaction using a method that specifies the best reaction conditions, such as temperature, solvent, catalyst, etc. The efficiency of a process is measured in terms of percent chemical yield. If the student chooses conditions or solvents that would still work, but which are suboptimal, the yield would be reduced.

Game scenario

Players start the game as a beginning alchemist working for the king in a castle. They only have a small laboratory available to them, and a regular supply of a few basic resources (Water, propane, etc) At the beginning the alchemist only has a few solvents, reagents and catalysts avaiable. You may also apply certain conditions such as heat or light.

As the player completes tasks they will gain more capabilities in their laboratory.

There are two types of 'challenges' that will appear throughout the game. The challenges will be more difficult and complex as the player increases in level.Initially you have a very limited range of tools and conditions, but the tasks you are assigned will be simple (typically single-step syntheses). As you succeed in the simple tasks, your laboratory will grow and you will be given more tools and conditions to work with, but the tasks will also get progressively harder.

The player will have to provide the castle with regular conversions of resources. (Like propane into heating and water for drinking) Other regular conversions will be much more complex to provide things like fertilizer and materials for things like metalsmithing. The ultimate goal of these types of challenges is to come up with reactions that yield the least amount of waste.

Emergency conversions will be quick scenarios where the players will have to solve one time problems. For instance a dragon attacks and a certain type of acid is needed.

The king sets tasks for you, in the form of target molecules that serve some useful purpose.

A simple synthesis, suitable for the "training period" at the start

A more challenging synthesis

Game levels

One possible approach uses levels to provide the "big rewards."

Level zero

Tutorial - scenario to be decided

Level one

The only organic compounds available are alcohols:

• Ethanol, made via fermentation of agricultural produce, then distillation.
• Methanol, from distillation of wood.

Students would be given a set of simple inorganic reagents, probably

1. sulfuric acid to allow them to make ethene.
2. sodium dichromate + sulfuric acid to allow them to make acetic acid or formic acid.
3. phosphorus tribromide to allow them to make alkyl bromides.

(Hydrobromic acid would also work in lower yield for the last reaction)

We could then have several scenarios:

• The king would like to have vinegar (acetic acid) for his Fish and Chips - made from ethanol + sodium dichromate + sulfuric acid.
• The king's crops have been attacked by a bacterial infection. Bromomethane will save the crops - if you can make it in time from methanol + phosphorus tribromide.
• The king's favorite wife has died, and he wants her embalmed. You need to make some formaldehyde, using methanol + sodium dichromate + sulfuric acid.
• There is a massive infestation of fire ants. The only things that will neutralize these ants is formic acid, as found in the stings of regular ants - but you have to make the pure stuff, from methanol + sodium dichromate + sulfuric acid.
• If you can achieve all of these, and then make a technological breakthrough - make plastic from ethanol + sulfuric acid to make ethene, then polymerize using a trace of air - then you can move onto level two!

Level two

In this level many different scenarios are possible, so the player wouldn't get the same problems assigned every time.

More to follow....