Potions! - Statistics

Magic is real, and you just got your first job as a wizard! Well, you are an intern actually, but you’ll be a full wizard soon enough. With the help of your mentor, it’s your job to protect the creatures of your region from magical threats. A number of local creatures have fallen ill to a mysterious curse. In theory, they can be cured with the right potions, but determining which potions are best for which creatures will take some experimentation. Potions! is a puzzle game designed to improve the player's understanding of hypothesis testing. Over the course of five studies, players must conduct controlled trials of the various potions at their disposal, choosing the populations to test them on, setting sample sizes, and making hypotheses to determine (with a reasonable degree of certainty) which potions can cure which creatures of the curse afflicting them. At the same time, they must be careful not to poison the creatures under their care, balancing their need for information against a limited supply of potions and the risk that many potions may prove lethal to the already sick creatures.