Written By Andrew Nellis
In the early autumn of 2021, a research project appeared on the University of Chicago’s undergraduate recruiting website that aimed to answer a call made by physicist Richard Feynman in 1964.
The call came during Feynman’s “Seeking new laws” lecture at Cornell University when he implored people to expand their concept of reality and push the limits of their imagination to understand the world through the counterintuitive lens of quantum physics. The project posted on the University of Chicago website would aim to do that with a deck of playing cards.
Titled “quantum gaming,” the project was undertaken by the STAGE Lab, a full-scale laboratory embedded within the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME), whose research centers on the intersection of art and science. Nancy Kawalek, professor, director of STAGE, and distinguished fellow in the arts, science, and technology, theorized that gameplay could convey some of Feynman’s concepts in a way that people would find engaging.
The project itself tasked researchers to prototype and playtest original game ideas that would explore quantum physics’ core principles. For inspiration, they would draw from three key research papers, “Quantum Poker: a game for quantum computers suitable for benchmarking error mitigation techniques on NISQ devices,” “Quantum blackjack:advantages offered by quantum strategies in communication-limited games,” and “Investigation of quantum roulette.”
The project’scentral design philosophy is to make quantum science accessible to everyone,” said Kawalek. “Instead of approaching people with an explicit intent to teach, the games evoke curiosity and spark moments of playfulness, inspiring players to use concepts in quantum physics to build strategies and win.”
The research posting received dozens of applicants. Over the next several months, a team of over 40 undergraduates, grad students, and postdocs with specialties ranging from chemistry to neuroscience to comparative literature bent their efforts to compress a semester of physics into a ten-minute experience.
What emerged was “Quantum Casino,” a suite of analog and digital games designed to impart the core principles of quantum mechanics in a way that’s engaging and easy to understand. It consists of three digital games and three card games that use a custom deck of cards, with all six demonstrating elements of quantum mechanics.