Navigate Semantic Space with Vector Arithmetic
A strategic multiplayer game where you manipulate word embeddings
to reach target words before your opponents
✨ Now live at http://45.79.160.157:8000 ✨
With enhanced visualizations and improved explanations!
Press → or click Next to continue
Every word is represented as a point in 100-dimensional space.
Words with similar meanings are closer together in this space.
📊 Example: "king" and "queen" are close to each other
📊 Example: "king" and "pizza" are far apart
💡 Key Insight: You can do math with these vectors!
This allows for semantic operations like:
king - man + woman ≈ queen
You're given a START word and a TARGET word.
Your goal: Navigate from START to TARGET using vector arithmetic.
How do you get there? By adding and subtracting word vectors using the cards you're dealt.
Who wins? The player whose result vector is closest to the target (measured by cosine similarity).
✨ No math skills needed! The computer does all the calculations. You just pick words that feel semantically right.
You must pick ONE public and ONE private card to make your move.
Adding a card vector moves you toward that concept.
Subtracting a card vector moves you away from that concept.
Your score: Cosine similarity between your result and "ocean".
Her reasoning: "Deep + vast = large body of water = ocean!"
Result: 0.7823 similarity
Nearest word to her result: "seas"
His reasoning: "Pacific is an ocean, salt water = ocean!"
Result: 0.8241 similarity
Nearest word to his result: "oceans" (even better!)
Bob's strategy was more direct → Higher score!
Highest similarity wins!
Bob chose cards that moved him more directly toward "ocean".
Words exist as vectors in 100-dimensional space.
Here's a simplified 2D view:
(Actual game uses all 100 dimensions for precise calculations)
Blue: Starting word (water)
Yellow: Target word (ocean)
Purple/Pink: Card vectors you add
Orange: Alice's result (closer to target = higher score)
Master these vector operations to win:
Add related concepts to navigate semantic relationships
Subtract to move away from unwanted meanings
Use wildcards to craft the perfect vector path
✨ Learn AI concepts intuitively - Understand word embeddings through gameplay
🧠 Strategic thinking required - Plan your vector path carefully
👥 Outsmart your friends - Compete in real-time multiplayer
⚡ Fast-paced rounds - 2 minutes to make each move
🎯 Easy to learn, hard to master - Simple rules, infinite strategies
🎓 Educational - Used in universities to teach NLP concepts
Compete against friends in real-time
Solve solo challenges at your own pace
The game uses TWO different methods
Measures how close you got to the target
Used for: Your score, Best move rankings
Finds which word matches your pattern
Used for: "Nearest word" display
Both are correct! They measure different things.
Think of words as points in space
Step 1: Start at the "start word" position
Step 2: Add your cards like directions:
Step 3: See where you end up
Step 4: Measure distance to target
🎯 This is like navigating: "From the castle, go toward the woman's quarters and toward the throne room"
Finds which word fits the pattern
What it does:
Looks at EVERY word in the vocabulary and asks:
"Which word is most similar to [king, woman]
and least similar to [man]?"
How it calculates:
🎯 This is like asking: "What's royal like king, feminine like woman, but not masculine like man?" → Queen!
Let's see both methods in action
Scores all possible moves:
| Move | Score | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| +woman +royal | 0.832 | #1 |
| +royal +crown | 0.818 | #3 |
| +woman -man | 0.770 | #15 |
✓ +woman +royal gets closest to queen's position in space
For move: +woman -man
Finds nearest word:
| Word | 3CosAdd Score |
|---|---|
| queen | 0.786 |
| monarch | 0.699 |
| throne | 0.690 |
| princess | 0.666 |
✓ "queen" is the best analogical match!
"How well did you do?"
Your score of 0.770 means you got 77% of the way to queen.
Someone who played +woman +royal got 83% of the way there.
✓ Fair rankings: Better moves = higher scores
"What concept did you create?"
Your move king+woman-man created the concept of "queen"!
The classic analogy still works perfectly.
✓ Meaningful interpretation: See what you actually made
The Result:
✅ Rankings make sense (closer to target = higher rank)
✅ Classic analogies work (king-man+woman finds "queen")
✅ You get both strategic feedback AND conceptual understanding
"From the castle, walk 100 steps toward the garden and 50 steps toward the tower."
→ Ends up 200 meters from the fountain
"Where you ended up is closest to the library."
→ Names the landmark you reached
In Word Bocce:
📐 Vector math: "You got 77% of the way to queen"
🔍 3CosAdd: "The word you created is 'queen'"
Both pieces of information are useful! 🎯
Start navigating semantic space!
Free to play • No download required • Works in any browser
🌐 Hosted at: http://45.79.160.157:8000