Make the hub elements first
Some elements turn up in recipe after recipe, so it pays to make them early. We counted how often each one appears as an ingredient across our 107 step-by-step guides:
- Dust (Earth + Wind) is used in 44 guides.
- Plant (Water + Earth) is used in 42.
- Steam (Fire + Water) is used in 28.
- Lake (Water + Water) is used in 23.
- Planet (Dust + Earth) is used in 22.
Each of those five takes only one or two combinations, so there's no reason not to make them right away.
Life, Human and Time are hubs of a different kind. They take more work to reach, six or seven combinations each (see the Life, Human and Time guides), but each one opens up a whole family of results:
- Life + Earth = Human, Life + Tsunami = Death, Life + Sandbox = Sims
- Human + Tree = Woodcutter, Human + Fossil = Caveman, Human + Ice Cream = Ice Cream Man
- Time + Moon = Month, Time + Dragon = Elder, Time + Lake = Aeon
Keep useful in-between elements on the board
Some intermediate elements open several doors at once. When you make one of these, leave a copy on the board while you explore around it:
- Tatooine (Dune + Planet) gives Star Wars with Fire, Darth Vader with Lava and Yoda with Plant.
- Flying Starfish (Starfish + Wind) gives Pikachu with Ash and Superman with Planet.
- Engine (Fire + Steam) gives Car with Plant, Boat with Lake, Train with Steam and Tractor with Earth.
- Lily (Lake + Plant) gives Angel with Dust and Mermaid with Wave.
With the hub already on the board, each test is a single drag instead of another trip to your list.
Combine an element with itself, and with the basics
Doubling up is one of the easiest ways to find something new. Put two copies of the same element on the board and drop one onto the other:
- Fire + Fire = Volcano
- Earth + Earth = Mountain
- Planet + Planet = Star
- Engine + Engine = Rocket
Adding more of a basic element works well too. Keep adding Water and Lake becomes Ocean, Ocean becomes Fish, and Fish becomes Fishbowl. Keep adding Wind and Mountain becomes Avalanche, then Snow. In fact, 490 of the 618 steps in our guides, nearly four in five, use Water, Fire, Wind or Earth as one of the two ingredients. So whenever you make something new, test it with all four basics before anything else.
Think in categories
Many results follow real-world logic, so it helps to think about what kind of thing you're after and what it's naturally connected to.
Weather
Start from Steam. Steam and Wind make Cloud, Cloud and Water make Rain, and Rain and Water make Rainbow. Cloud and Fire give Lightning, Smoke and Water give Fog, and Tornado and Water give Tsunami.
Materials
Think about heat. Earth and Fire make Lava, Lava and Water make Stone, Lava and Stone make Obsidian, and Earth and Obsidian make Diamond. Earth and Wave make Sand, and Fire and Sand make Glass.
People
Human comes from Life, but plenty of people come from objects and stories instead. Broom and Fire make Witch, Water and Witch make Wizard, Earth and Sword make Knight, and Frog and Wind make Prince, who becomes King with Earth.
Holidays and seasons
Combine the things you associate with the day. Snow and Tree make Christmas, and Christmas and Earth make Santa. Leaf and Rainbow make Autumn, and Autumn and Fog make Halloween.
Pop culture
Games, films and characters are in the game too. Titanic, for example, comes from Steam and Tsunami. These usually sit one step away from something closely linked to them, which brings us to the next tip.
How to reach pop-culture characters
Characters and franchises are usually one step away from a setting, creature or object that's strongly tied to them. Mario comes from Mushroom and Planet, Batman from Bat and Tornado, Shrek from Ogre and Plant, and Star Wars from Fire and Tatooine. So build the linked thing first, then try it with the basics and your hubs. Here are two complete chains.
Pikachu
- Earth + Wind = Dust
- Dust + Fire = Ash
- Water + Water = Lake
- Lake + Water = Ocean
- Ocean + Water = Fish
- Dust + Fish = Starfish
- Starfish + Wind = Flying Starfish
- Ash + Flying Starfish = Pikachu
Minecraft
- Earth + Wind = Dust
- Dust + Earth = Planet
- Fire + Water = Steam
- Fire + Steam = Engine
- Water + Wind = Wave
- Earth + Wave = Sand
- Engine + Sand = Sandbox
- Planet + Sandbox = Minecraft
Minecraft follows the pattern neatly: a Sandbox, the usual word for open building games, plus a Planet to build on. Pikachu is less obvious, which is exactly when a guide saves time. Once you have Minecraft, try it with Water for TNT or with Wind for Minecart. The full guides for Pikachu, Minecraft, Mario and Star Wars list every step.
Use the search box
Once your list is long, scrolling for one element wastes time. Type part of a name into the search box ("Search..") to filter your list. Typing "Sand" narrows it down to the ones you've found, such as Sand, Sandstorm, Sandbox and Sandcastle, which is handy when the next step needs one of them. It also shows you at a glance whether you already have an element before you go looking for its recipe.
Tidy the board with Clear the game board
A crowded board makes it easy to drop an element on the wrong neighbor. When things get messy, use Clear the game board. It removes only the items lying on the board, and every element stays in your list, so you lose nothing. Then drag back just the few elements you're working with. Save Full reset for when you truly want to start over, because it deletes all of your discoveries and can't be undone.
Use the chart, guides and explorer when you're stuck
- The combinations chart shows what the nine core elements make with 141 common elements. If your element has a row, scan it to see its one-step options at a glance.
- The how-to-make guides give verified step-by-step paths to 107 popular elements.
- The recipe explorer searches about 196,000 elements and 3.4 million known recipes, showing how to make an element and what it combines into.
Looking up one hard element and then exploring freely from there is a perfectly good way to play.
Don't be afraid of weird results
Because results are generated by AI, the game sometimes takes a sideways step, and some of the best chains depend on word play. In the Love guide, Oasis and Plant make Date. Add Water and Date becomes Dating, and Dating with Fire gives Love. In the Phone guide, Allergy and Lens make Contact, and Contact with Wind becomes Phone. If a result looks strange, keep it and test it with the basics. It might be the shortcut you've been looking for. And because the same pair always gives the same result, a strange element you find today will behave the same way the next time you use it.