Play games for The Man

摘要

With its bleepy sound effects and cheery music, Xylem draws me into the puzzle without giving away its secret. A bit like the plot of the recent movieEnder's Game, my solutions are helping the US military, or at least its research arm, DARPA. One of five games commissioned by the agency, Xylem hides mathematical teasers inside the story of a botanist identifying flowers on a pristine island. In another game, Storm Bound, I play a fearless "Golamancer", fighting to turn a magic storm against itself by finding patterns in runes.