In Atomas, what determines the next element a player receives?

Question

I'll frequently have a board why my lowest element is Carbon or Nitrogen (6 or 7), but the game still spawns Hydrogen and Helium (1 and 2). These low elements frequently don't come in pairs, so I end up with a straggling element that can't be combined with anything and I just have to wait for a - to get rid of it. This also happens at higher levels, where the highest element might be Cobalt (27) but Aluminum is still being generated (13).

At what point should I stop seeing lower numbered elements? Is this tied to the lowest element on the board, or the number of turns taken, or some other thing?

Answer 1

My guess is that the game is spawning the atoms by normal distribution. The changes for higher and lower atom spawning is statistically low but present.

UPDATE

I've found the exact logic behind atom spawning in the developer's own introduction page. The 3. and 4. rules control the behaviour that you're observing.

What are the spawning criterias?

1. You get a plus at least every 5 moves.

2. You get a minus every 20 moves.

3. Every 40 moves the range of possible atoms increases.

4. If you have atoms below this range in the circle they can still spawn with a chance of 1/(Amount of atoms in circle).

5. Neutrinos spawn with a chance 1/60 when the score is above 1500.

6. Dark pluses spawn with a chance 1/90 when the score is above 750.