Version 1: 4 November 2026
1. Description of the application
Optimize This! is an educational application (hereafter the “Application”) that helps a wide audience understand how Bayesian Optimization using Gaussian Process Regression works, and develop an intuition for it, by competing against the optimizer.
Each game starts with a fictive scenario chosen randomly by the Application. It sets out your role, your project, the parameters to optimize, the price per experiment and the time per experiment. The goal is to maximize the yield of a fictive chemical reaction in as few experiments as possible.
In the standard format, the human player first optimizes the reaction by tweaking the reaction parameters. The Bayesian Optimizer (Matérn 5/2 kernel, Expected Improvement acquisition function) then optimizes the same reaction. In the alternative “Alternating turns” format, the player and the Optimizer take turns on the same landscape, and the first to reach the target wins. The winner is the one who optimizes the reaction in the fewest steps.
Optional modifiers are:
- Lab noise: adds measurement noise.
- Hard mode: adds a third variable.
- No surface: manual entry without the grid.
- Batch mode: batches of 4 experiments, using the Kriging Believer batch strategy.
- Two objectives: adds purity as a second objective, using Expected Hypervolume Improvement as acquisition function.
After each game you can play again and find supplementary information on the end screen about how Bayesian Optimization via Gaussian Process Regression works. Modes and features may change over time.
Optimize This! was developed by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) as part of the project “POLYSUN”, supported by the National Research Fund, Luxembourg.
2. Educational and fictional nature
Scenarios, reactions, parameters, costs, durations, yields and purity values are fictive or generated for gameplay. They are not experimental results or recommendations. Do not use them for safety, engineering, commercial or scientific decisions about real experiments or chemical processes. The Application is a simplified teaching tool and does not claim to be a complete or universally applicable account of Bayesian Optimization.
The Application is intended for use by adults, including teachers and other educators. Teachers, schools and other educational organisations that make the Application available to minors are responsible for appropriate supervision of that use.
3. Permitted use
By accessing or using the Application, you accept these terms and commit in using the Application in accordance with them as well as all applicable laws and regulations, and any rules or instructions displayed in the Application. In particular, you must not:
- use the Application for any unlawful, harmful or abusive purpose;
- interfere with its operation, attempt unauthorised access to its systems, or introduce malware or other harmful code;
- use automated means (bots, scrapers) to access it or to extract its content, other than standard web browsing;
- remove or alter copyright, licence or proprietary notices;
- reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code or underlying structure of the Application;
- sell, rent, sublicense or commercially exploit the Application or LIST’s content, except with LIST’s written consent.
4. Access
The Application is made available free of charge and no login is required.
LIST may modify, suspend or discontinue all or part of the application, including for maintenance, security, technical or legal reasons.
5. Intellectual property and copyright
© 2026 Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST). All rights reserved in LIST’s own code and content. Except as permitted by applicable law or by LIST in writing, copying or redistributing them is prohibited. Third-party components are the property of their respective owners and are used under their own licences (see section 6).
Subject to these terms, LIST grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable right to access and use the Application for personal, educational and non-commercial purposes. You acquire no ownership or other intellectual property rights. Without LIST’s prior written permission, you may not copy, redistribute, publicly communicate, sell or create derivative works from LIST’s own code and content.
The name “LIST” and its logo are the property of LIST and may not be used without permission.
6. Third-party components
All components distributed with the software are under permissive, non-copyleft licences (MIT, ISC, 0BSD, BSD-3-Clause and Apache-2.0). They remain subject to their own licences. Copyright notices and licence texts are available in the Application under Open-source licences.
7. Google Play
Your download and use of the Application through Google Play are also subject to the Google Play terms of service.
Ratings and reviews you post on Google Play are governed by Google’s terms and policies. LIST does not control how Google displays them. If you have concerns about a rating or review, you may report it through Google Play.
8. Data protection
LIST does not collect or process personal data through the Application, and the Application does not use advertising, analytics or tracking tools.
If you contact LIST by email, the information you send is processed only to answer your request. Further information on how LIST processes your personal data is available in LIST’s website.
If you download the Application from Google Play, Google processes data under its own terms and privacy notice.
9. Disclaimer and liability
The Application is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including accuracy, completeness, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. LIST does not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. It may suspend, modify or discontinue all or part of the Application at any time, including for maintenance, security, technical or legal reasons, and may block access in case of breach of these terms. LIST is not liable for failures or delays caused by events beyond its reasonable control.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, LIST is not liable for any indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages, or for loss of data, arising from the use of or inability to use the Application.
10. Applicable law and jurisdiction
These terms are governed by Luxembourg law. The courts of Luxembourg have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising from these terms or the use of the Application.
11. Contact
Support requests and questions about the Application should be sent to LIST at jonathan.minaglou [at] list [dot] lu. LIST will respond within a reasonable time and will treat urgent issues as a priority.
12. Changes to these terms
LIST may amend these Terms from time to time. The current version is the version displayed in the Application. Each amended version replaces the previous one from its effective date and applies to your use of the Application from that date. Previous versions are available on request. You are invited to consult these Terms regularly, including through the Application, before using it. Your continued use of the Application after an amended version takes effect constitutes acceptance of that version, to the extent permitted by applicable law.
