Games

Material Lab

A sandbox of twenty materials that fall, flow, burn, freeze, grow and dissolve. Draw, watch the reactions, and meet five set goals for stars.

Material Lab

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Watch a 20-second trailer

A real run of the game, recorded with captions and no sound.

How to play

  1. Pick a material, then drag across the picture to pour or draw it. Sand and water fall, steam and smoke rise, and metal, stone and wood stay where you put them.
  2. Put materials together and watch what happens: fire boils water into steam, water cools lava into stone, plants soak up water and grow, and acid eats stone.
  3. Choose a scenario for a goal, such as growing a forest or casting stone. Fewer brush strokes earn more stars. Use Undo, Save, Share and Photo mode, and turn on Show the science to read why each reaction happens.

Controls: mouse, touch or keyboard. Made by CalcoTools.

Tips and strategy

  • Build a metal basin first so liquids stay where you want them, then add one material at a time.
  • Oil floats on water and burns fast, so a thin layer of oil makes a quick fire. Salt melts ice and snow.
  • A spring keeps making water and a vent keeps making lava, so a small build can run for a long time. Pause and use Step to watch one moment at a time.

FAQ

Is this a real physics simulation?
It is a simplified grid model. Each cell holds one material and follows a few plain rules: it falls, flows or rises, and some pairs react. It is made to be understood and played with, not to be exact.
Can I keep or share what I make?
Yes. Save to three slots, copy a share link that holds the whole scene in the address, or save a picture in Photo mode. Nothing is sent to a server, and slots stay on this device.
Why do my scenes change when I load them?
A scene stores where each material is, not the moment-to-moment motion. When it loads, the simulation carries on from that picture, so a fire or a spring keeps going.

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