Prime Hunter

How to Play Prime Hunter

1. Choose a difficulty, an expedition length, and an optional practice category, then start the expedition.
2. Read the mission card: it tells you whether to scan one prime, tag every prime, prove a number is composite, or eliminate composites.
3. Scan a number creature by clicking or tapping it, or focus it with the arrow keys and press Enter.
4. On prime-or-composite rounds press Prime, Composite, or Neither. Use Neither only for the number 1.
5. On multi-target rounds tag each creature you want, then press Done Scanning.
6. Use scanner tools such as Factor Lens or Square Radar when a wave is difficult; each tool has limited uses.
7. Keep scans accurate to build the Prime Streak and unlock the next reserve region.

Learning goals

• Define a prime number as a whole number with exactly two factors.
• Separate primes from composite numbers using real factor pairs.
• Apply divisibility clues for 2, 3, 5, and 10 before testing larger factors.
• Recognise that every perfect square above 1 is composite.
• Explain why 1 is neither prime nor composite and why 2 is the only even prime.
• Find the smallest factor greater than 1 for a composite number.

About this game

Prime Hunter is a number-exploration game set in the Wild Number Reserve. Animated number creatures drift through seven illustrated regions, and you use a harmless field scanner to identify which of them are prime. Every scan reveals real factor information: primes show their single 1 × p pair, composites split into a factor pair, and the number 1 explains why it is neither prime nor composite. Rounds mix single-prime hunts, prime-or-composite calls, select-all-primes waves, factor-clue proofs, smallest-factor questions, prime paths, square-number traps, and divisibility elimination. Six scanner tools, a Prime Streak meter, and an Auto-Focus control mode keep the expedition playable with a mouse, touch, or keyboard alone.

Controls: mouse-touch-keyboard. Scores are verified before appearing on the public leaderboard. Read how scoring works.

Skills practiced

• Prime recognition up to 250.
• Factor pairs and complete factor lists.
• Divisibility rules for 2, 3, 5, and 10.
• Multiplication facts recalled under light time pressure.
• Square numbers and repeated factors.
• Number classification into prime, composite, and neither.
• Elimination strategy: rule out obvious composites first.
• Mental math with square-root limits on factor testing.

Scoring tips

• Check divisibility by 2, 3, and 5 before you scan anything.
• Remember that 2 is prime — it is the only even number that is.
• Remember that 1 is neither prime nor composite; it has one factor.
• Watch for perfect squares such as 9, 25, 49, 81, 121, and 169.
• Protect the Prime Streak: accuracy is worth more than speed.
• Save Factor Lens and Square Radar for the hardest waves.
• Answer without a hint to keep the no-hint bonus.
• Finishing a round with zero mistakes and zero hints earns the perfect-round bonus.

Difficulty guide

• Easy uses numbers from 1 to 30 with three or four creatures, slower movement, larger targets, and a generous response window. It focuses on prime versus composite and on the special rules for 1 and 2.
• Medium uses numbers from 2 to 100 with four to six creatures. It adds select-all-primes waves, factor-clue proofs, divisibility elimination, prime paths, and later smallest-factor questions.
• Hard uses numbers from 2 to 250 with five to eight creatures, close prime and composite decoys, square-number traps, ordered prime sequences, faster creature movement, and lower scanner stability after a false scan.

Parent and teacher notes

Prime Hunter teaches primality through visible factor evidence rather than memorisation: every scan shows the actual factor pair that decides the answer, and the number 1 is always explained rather than simply marked wrong. Number range, expedition length, and practice category are adjustable, so a session can be as short as twelve rounds. A full tutorial using the numbers 2, 4, 7, and 9 runs without any scoring. The game supports mouse, touch, keyboard, and an Auto-Focus control mode with no score penalty. No account is required, leaderboard submission is optional, and the game is designed as practice and entertainment rather than a formal assessment.