Bury the water-fearing residues together and watch the energy drop.
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How to play
You're given a chain of residues, some hydrophobic (H) and some not. Fold it on the grid so the hydrophobic residues cluster into a buried core, each non-adjacent H-H pair that ends up touching lowers the structure's energy. Reach the lowest energy to solve it.
Fold the chain by bending it on the grid
Pack hydrophobic (H) residues together into a core
Every buried H-H contact reduces the total energy
Hit the target low-energy fold to clear the level
Game modes
Easy, Medium or Hard difficulty for longer chains
Daily puzzle or Practice for fresh sequences
Controls
Desktop: click and drag to bend and reshape the chain
Phone & tablet: drag the chain with a finger to fold it
Tips & strategy
Aim for a compact blob, not a long strand, contacts only form when residues sit side by side
Tuck H residues inward and let the others sit on the surface
Count potential H-H pairs before committing to a fold direction
What you'll learn
Protein Fold is a biochemistry puzzle built on how proteins fold around a hydrophobic core, the principle that gives proteins their shape.
Skills: protein folding, biochemistry, hydrophobic interactions, structure and function
Best for: roughly grades 9–12 (ages 14+)
For parents & teachers: a real biochemistry concept made into a spatial puzzle.
About Protein Fold
Protein Fold is a biochemistry puzzle built around hydrophobic-core protein folding models. It's an original, free browser game made in-house for PlayPendium.
A free, original browser game on PlayPendium. No download, no install.
