K-mers

Description

Inspired by molecular biology, K-mers is a simple, relaxing puzzle game about connecting DNA fragments together to reveal original genomes. You are given a set of "k-mers" (slices of a full word that contain an amount of letters k), which you will have to split and reconnect between other fragments that have an overlap by drawing paths between them. If the final route ends where it started, all fragments are connected, and each path is only visited once, the route is complete and the original genome can be assembled!

How to play

All game interactions are done with mouse movements and clicks only.

Starting a Stage

You're given a box of k-mers, also referred to as reads. To begin, you'll have to take them out of the box into the game area. This will split them into prefixes and suffixes, and repeats will disappear. Once all reads are removed, you can begin connecting fragments.

Connecting Fragments

You can pick any fragment as the starting point. Click and drag to begin a path, and release while hovering another fragment to make a connection. Connections can only be made between fragments that have an overlap (for example, CAT and ATG), and they can only start from the last connected fragment. Continue connecting fragments until a loop is formed!

Traversing the Graph

When a loop is formed, you'll be able to check if the route meets the required conditions to assemble the fragments. Traversing a path more than once is not allowed, but traversing a fragment more than once is. If the final route ends where it started, all fragments are connected, and each path is only visited once, the genome can be assembled and you win!