For teachers, tutors, and co-op leaders
Run a chemistry game tournament in your class
A free bracket activity built on Bond Forge: students play head-to-head from a share link, every move earned by a chemistry answer. No accounts, no installs, no cost — set up in 15 minutes, run in one period.
The short version
Bond Forge is a free two-player chemistry game: dots-and-boxes where every move is earned by answering a chemistry question. One student creates a match and shares a link; their opponent taps it and plays — on a phone, tablet, or Chromebook, with no account and nothing to install. A tournament is just that, run as a bracket.
A wrong answer hands the opponent a free bonus move. So students double-check themselves before they answer, which is exactly the recall practice the periodic table needs. The competition supplies the motivation; the questions supply the chemistry.
What you need
- One device with a web browser per student (phones are fine) and internet access.
- The printable bracket — one sheet for the wall or whiteboard.
- About 30–45 minutes for an 8-player bracket. No accounts, no sign-ups, no cost.
The free game draws its questions from the first 12 elements (hydrogen through magnesium) — a fit for a first-semester class or a pre-chemistry head start.
Set it up in 15 minutes
- Seed the bracket. Print the 8-player bracket and write in names. More than 8? Run two brackets side by side, or have extra players face off in a quick play-in round for the last slots.
- First player creates the match. They open periodicmole.com/bond-forge, tap Play vs a friend, pick the level you've chosen for the round, and tap Create match.
- Opponent joins from the link. The match screen shows Share this link with your opponent with a Copy button — send it by class chat, AirDrop, or email. The opponent taps the link, then Join the match. That's the whole join flow.
- Play the round. Highest score when the board fills wins and advances. Record the score on the bracket. For semifinals or the final, the Rematch button makes best-of-three easy — same link, same room.
If someone drops their connection, the match holds their seat for 30 seconds — they reopen the link and pick up where they left off.
Pick the right level
The level sets the board size, which sets the match length. Early rounds want quick matches; the final can earn a bigger board.
| Level | Board | Match length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Spark · Linear | 16 boxes (4×4) | ≈1–2 min |
| 2. Ember · Bent | 25 boxes (5×5) | ≈2–4 min |
| 3. Forge · Trigonal | 36 boxes (6×6) | ≈4–6 min |
| 4. Crucible · Tetrahedral | 49 boxes (7×7) | ≈6–8 min |
| 5. Inferno · Rings | 64 boxes (8×8) | ≈8–10 min |
A format that fits one class period: quarterfinals and semifinals at level 1 or 2, final at level 3. Eliminated players pair up for friendly matches — or take on Cobalt, the resident computer opponent, solo — so nobody sits idle.
Common questions
Do students need accounts?
No. Both the match creator and the joiner play anonymously. Nobody types an email, password, or name into anything.
Does it cost anything?
No. Bond Forge is the free part of Periodic Mole — solo and two-player, no time limit, no trial countdown.
Do players need to be on the same network?
No. The match runs over the internet, so it also works for remote students, homeschool co-ops meeting across houses, or a sick kid joining from home.
What devices work?
Anything with a modern browser: phones, tablets, Chromebooks, laptops. Each player needs their own device.
What chemistry does it actually practice?
Element recall (symbol to name and back) and bonding intuition for the first 12 elements, in a dots-and-boxes frame: drawing a bond requires a correct answer, closing a box captures a molecule, and a wrong answer gives the opponent a free move.
The tournament ends. The links don't.
Students can keep challenging each other from home with the same share-link flow, free.