Agent Higgs Game Turns Real Particle Hunt on its Head

Agent Higgs Game Turns Real Particle Hunt on its Head

As the world waits for the next installment of news in the hunt for the Higgs boson, a simple smart phone game encourages players to hide, not hunt, the world’s favorite particle. Agent Higgs has a simple interface. Players shuffle these particles around a grid, trying to land on – and therefore conceal – the stationary Higgs.

Whether or not you can move a particle to a particular spot, however, is governed by the standard model of physics: our leading explanation of fundamental particles and force. That means electrons can’t approach each other because the electromagnetic force pushes them apart. And when a particle meets its antimatter doppelganger, both of them vanish. As the levels increase, it becomes more difficult to orchestrate the particles and their forces to keep the Higgs hidden.