LHC

The game “2048” is currently sweeping across campus, but there is another game that is equally as addicting. “LHC” is the more science based cousin of “2048.” “LHC” is a physics-based collision game. Instead of colliding numbers like in “2048,” physics particles are smashed into each other in order to create larger, more impressive particles.

“LHC” is based off the Large Hadron Collider, a particle accelerator located in Geneva, Switzerland, and run by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The actual particle accelerator works by accelerating particles around large loops and colliding them in order to create different particles. The game “LHC” follows along the same lines by having the player collide two of the same particles in order to create other particles.

The final goal of the game is to create the Higgs Boson particle or the ‘God’ particle; however, that is easier said than done. The player has to work their way up through collisions to be able to form the Higgs Boson. Along the way, they will encounter copious amounts of electrons and electron neutrinos, but, eventually, they will find their way to the Z and W Bosons and from there to the final Higgs Boson.

This game has a basis in real physics so some players will try and justify their playing by claiming that it is helping them study physics. This is most definitely not the case, but, none the less, there is some educational value to it, just nowhere near enough to justify playing it for as long as most players do.

This game is ridiculously addicting and after playing it just once, anyone who goes down that dangerous path will be forced to keep going. While there seems like there is no end in sight for the game, there is an unavoidable urge to beat the game. This even includes people who usually have no difficulty at all avoiding addictive games. Anyone who fears becoming far too addicted to a simple collisions game, avoid this game at all costs. But for someone who wishes to waste a weekend or a month of their life, then this is the game for them. Beware, this game can be played on a computer or on a phone, so once the addiction begins, there is no way to escape it.