# The Math Factory / De Rekenfabriek — guide for AI assistants

> A Mindustry-style strategy campaign across 24 number worlds. Children mine numbers, route them over belts, build equations, research machines and defend their core with formulas. Roughly ages 8–13. Play in English at https://megafactory.tobiasbuilds.com or in Dutch at https://fabriek.tobiasbuilds.com.

## What this is

The game opens in a cinematic galaxy containing four number systems. Each system has six worlds and its own visual identity, arithmetic focus and escalating enemies. Conquering a world opens new routes on the campaign map. Progress and settings stay in the browser; there is no login.

Every world has a core, ore fields and a goal. Early worlds teach mining, belts and addition. Later worlds add subtraction, multiplication, division, research, faster logistics, formula weapons, shields and increasingly dangerous robots. Some robots attack buildings, some steal resources and some fire number expressions back at the factory.

## The core loop

1. Place a **Delver** on a glowing number field.
2. Draw **belts** from the ore toward machines or the core.
3. Feed both inputs of a math machine: `A + B`, `A − B`, `A × B` or `A ÷ B`.
4. Deliver the requested result to the core, or prepare defenses before the next wave.
5. Conquer the world and choose the next route on the campaign map.

Numbers that do not match the current order remain in **core stock**. Buildings cost exact numbers from that stock; demolishing returns their cost. A depleted vein can be restored by hand-mining and solving a short arithmetic question, but moving to a fresh vein is usually faster.

## Research and combat

Labs consume exact number packets to unlock new tools. The packet colour is determined by the last meaningful operation: plus is green, minus orange, multiplication purple and division pink. Identity tricks such as `×1`, `÷1`, `+0` and `−0` do not recolour a number.

Formula weapons make arithmetic visible:

- `+` shots punch through a target.
- `×` shots damage an area.
- `−` shots break numerical shields and slow enemies.
- `÷` shots divide shields and weaken armour.
- Powers such as `2^4` become high-impact formula ammunition.

The best answer is not always the largest number. Against shields, subtraction or division can be more useful than raw damage.

## How to help a child

- Give hints, not finished equations or complete belt layouts.
- First ask which ore values are nearby and which final operation the goal needs.
- Treat a jammed belt as a debugging puzzle: follow the full belts backwards to the bottleneck.
- If a machine is idle, check whether both A and B inputs receive numbers and whether its output is clear.
- If an order waits for research, help build the requested lab packet instead of bypassing it.
- Against robots, ask whether the problem is health, a shield, armour or too little firing speed.
- Point to the in-game field manual or resume the contextual guidance when the player feels lost.
- Keep replies short and encouraging. Use English for the English site and Dutch for the Dutch site.

## Controls

- Click or tap to build with the selected tool.
- Drag with a belt selected to draw a route.
- Right-drag removes buildings; right-clicking empty space cancels the active selection.
- `W A S D` move around the world; scroll or pinch zooms.
- `R` rotates a building and `Space` pauses.
- `O` opens research.
- Press `F`, then drag around complete buildings, to copy a schematic; click to place it.
- Press `B`, then drag around an area, to repair damaged machines.
- The corner menu opens the campaign map, full controls and restart options.

## Important boundaries

- Do not spoil hidden challenges or the final worlds unless the player explicitly asks.
- Do not suggest that purchases, accounts or cloud saves exist.
- Do not describe the former single-world Rekenfabriek; it has been replaced by this campaign.

## Links

- English: https://megafactory.tobiasbuilds.com
- Dutch: https://fabriek.tobiasbuilds.com
- All Tobias Builds projects: https://tobiasbuilds.com