I'd like to play, but I haven't been able to find any tutorials, and the only education puzzle is closed. I can't even find how to just start playing, to try to figure things out blindly. (There's only a descriptiin and leaderboards, no means to play.). How is this even supposed to work???
There is a wiki about Foldit with many useful tips (see https://foldit.fandom.com/wiki/Foldit_Wiki for details).
For example, there is a set of Campaign Levels (formerly known as Intro or Tutorial Puzzles) that introduce many of the tools you need to play the game (see https://foldit.fandom.com/wiki/Campaign for details). The wiki has pages of tips about each Level, and many pages also have links to videos about each Level.
After doing the Campaign Levels, new players should do as many Beginner Puzzles as they can. These puzzles are set aside for new players, so you should be able to rank better on them than you would one of the Science Puzzles. See https://foldit.fandom.com/wiki/Beginner_puzzle for details.
If you need help along the way, you can post questions in this Forum or ask them in Foldit's built-in Chat.
I hope this helps,
Jeff
I haven't even been able to figure out how to make the download a desktop icon, as it says, "None of your apps can open this file.". Is this game playable on a phone, or is it laptop/desktop only?
Nothing shows up when I search the word " campaign" in puzzles, either.
I don't think Foldit is playable on a phone. Many players use laptops or desktops to play it. It helps to have a large screen so you can see all the details of the proteins you fold. There are also many keyboard shortcuts and mouse-driven tools that just wouldn't be the same on a phone.
https://fold.it/play gives download instructions. For more details, go to https://foldit.fandom.com/wiki/Foldit_Wiki and scroll down to the New Players section. One of the links there goes to https://foldit.fandom.com/wiki/Download-Install-Troubleshoot
One problem you may have is that the Foldit site was overhauled earlier this Fall, but the wiki has been compiled by players over the past 10+ years. It is possible that some of the links there no longer work, and some of the information there may be out of date.
The Foldit wiki is searchable (look there for the magnifying glass icon). Below gives the results of a search for the word "campaign". https://foldit.fandom.com/wiki/Special:Search?query=campaign&scope=internal&navigationSearch=true
It gives many hits, like this one: https://foldit.fandom.com/wiki/Campaign
You can search the official Foldit site as well. In the upper left corner of the web page https://fold.it/forum is a search button that says "Search Topics and Posts".
The wiki page https://foldit.fandom.com/wiki/Education_mode is about Foldit Education mode, a special mode used by Educators. Near the top is a screen shot of a startup menu. It has buttons for "Campaign", "Science Challenges" (science puzzles), and "Education".
The old Foldit website at https://old.fold.it/portal/ also has a search button. Scroll down the right side of the page to find it. It can search the internet or just the Foldit website. Searching the Foldit website for "campaign" makes the link: https://www.google.com/search?q=campaign&sitesearch=fold.it and gives many hits.
I hope my answers help. Please keep asking if you need more help.