Cyborg Earthworm
Cyborg Earthworm is a “Snake” automation game. The worm follows the rules of the famous Snake game, and you can program it. Develop a strategy and let the worm follow it without your involvement.
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Solve and optimize 20+ areas, each of which contains a virtually unlimited number of procedurally generated levels.
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Watch the worm dominate the levels automatically without having to pilot it.
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Reach the maximum possible length, filling all free space.
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Use a variety of tools like paint spray for leaving marks in the soil and internal worm memory for tracking things.
Read More: Best Automation Hacking Games.
Code World
Greatly recommended if you are learning Python and already know the basic stuff. You inspect code and look for dependencies to figure out the puzzle - just like in real life. Music is relaxing and I like the concept a lot.
If you don’t know any programming language it is pretty hard, though.
Unfortunately, the game doesn’t support the German keyboard layout, so entering special characters like [] () = or : is a bit cumbersome.
– Real player with 29.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Automation Hacking Games.
This game does not touch upon object-oriented programming, nor does it implement try/except blocks. And that’s perfectly acceptable, since I can only imagine the hassle of trying to add those. But once I found out that things like:
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string slicing
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concatenation via multiplication (str * int)
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the ‘break’ keyword
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elif
are not supported, my eyebrow finally raised. Then there are the things that are partially implemented (ie. maimed) - tuples and dynamic typing. The Python in here is extremely barebones and so is the interpreter. It provides zero feedback on what went wrong, only that it did. And if you’re not careful and don’t use the Ctrl+C clipboard to store the latest version of your script, a syntax error will wipe all of your progress (by automatically restarting the level).
– Real player with 26.8 hrs in game
ComPressure
One of the best zach-like games to exist thus far; A perfect rendition of simple rules leading to complex interactions. The retro pixel art and story featuring historically accurate rock star scientists lends itself well to a fun and engaging game about building the worlds first analog computer. The developer is active and responsive, adding more content fairly frequently, and the community is already both friendly and competitive.
10/10, would request lewd etchings again
– Real player with 395.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Automation Building Games.
First and foremost: This is a positive review.
I’m unable to beat this game however (PEBKAC) though, so I’m going to caution prospective players:
This game is HARD, and the tests in each level are NOT comprehensive, nor will they give the same results when run individually versus the ‘run all tests’ results. It’s VERY possible to make solutions which pass in test-all but fail on every single test when run individually. Chasing the test scores can easily box you into a dead-end solution path.
The test score results are NOT an actual metric for how usable parts you design are, and almost every part is meant to be used later after it’s made, without any clear description of errors compounding or what to watch out for.
– Real player with 16.5 hrs in game
Dreamjob: Programmer
Dreamjob: Programmer is a super easy and fun way to get you started with programming. With hundreds of missions, each one carefully adjusted to your level of expertise with coding, you will get into the shoes of a real programmer! Soon you will know how to create and monetize enough assets to buy a home, an exclusive yacht, or even a private island! Each place can be decorated by items you buy in a sim-shop and many of them may be enchanted by your code, making them uniquely interactive. As your programming skills keep getting better, you can change your life - earn more money, perform more difficult tasks, and become a real IT guy!
Making a long story short - if you are looking for a good coding learning game, Dreamjob: Programmer is the perfect match!
Learn programming from zero!
Start your adventure with the simplest approach to programming ever created: Visual Scripting Editor. Place and connect the proper blocks to create programs. The concepts you learn here will help you learn real programming in languages like Python, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, and more! Smooth and fun gameplay in our coding game will make you have a great time while learning.
Gain XP and learn new skills!
Starting with the legendary “Hello world” program, you will solve more and more complex tasks and acquire new skills that will let you understand real programming concepts like:
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Math and logical operations
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Conditional statements
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Loops
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Arrays and dictionaries
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…and many, many more!
Upgrade your hardware
Earn lots of cash by solving more and more prestigious jobs. Upgrade your computer, monitor, mouse, seat, desk, and the whole place you live in! All this to play and learn even more efficiently.
Program anything!
Have a hot coffee every day at 8 AM, program a toaster to give you fresh toasts at 10 AM, and make lights turn red when someone is approaching your home! In Dreamjob: Programmer game you can change the world around you.
Get some actual Python source code working!
Besides solving tasks with the visual editor, you will have the opportunity to try yourself with the actual Python source code. And, by doing so, to launch a rocket to outer space. How cool is that? Our coding learning game has two endpoints - teach you to program and keep you entertained!
Why should you give Dreamjob: Programmer a shot?
In today’s world, the work of a programmer is associated with prestige, performing interesting tasks, and good money. No wonder so many people want to learn to code. After deciding to give it a shot, they often ask themselves - how to start? Buy an expensive course? Enroll in college? Well, there is a much cheaper and easier way. Dreamjob: Programmer will let you understand the world of programming. Thanks to our coding learning game you will understand how it works - starting from simple, basic issues, ending at complex, rewarding tasks.
Dreamjob: Programmer is a programmer’s career sim / code learning game. Inspired by The Sims, Monument Valley, and Minecraft.
Move Code Lines
Only partially through the second level but OMFG this “game” is actually incredible and I’m learning so much already I can’t imagine what I’ll learn by playing all the way through. DEFINITELY recommend if you’re interested in programming or learning about programming. The interface is really relaxing, one of the color themes is the old QBASIC editor theme xD and the music is super chill.
– Real player with 15.1 hrs in game
Stylishly executed game, with pleasant musical accompaniment. From the main screen greets you with its core mechanic, namely the ability to move the lines of the name of the game.
Programming language is a little bit similar to Python and to C++, but… in reality you do not need to program, just read a code lines and sort it to the right position for solving the puzzle.
At the initial stages, everything looks very simple, the solution of the issues can be found faster than you reading, intuitively bugs hunting. But the further you move through the list of levels, the more difficult it gets.
– Real player with 7.2 hrs in game
The Penguin IQ Test
A roundabout 5-6 hour indie puzzle game at the moment. You need to figure out where to place your arrows to change the path of the penguin.
There are ~ 65 levels right now with some being explanatory when a new mechanic is introduced.
Maybe there should be in a few levels a limit of arrows to make it more difficult. I personally would prefer some kind of incentive to optimize your solutions - right now it doesn’t matter how fast/good your solution is as long as it solves the puzzle.
Now with added workshop items there is more content and you could create your own levels or play for example my created levels ;)
– Real player with 40.0 hrs in game
This is a brilliant and fun game. I have not quite finished it yet as of the time of this review but I’m pretty close so I’d say this game should take about 3 hours to complete in its current state. That gives £3.10/hour, which is reasonably good value. The best part is, however, that the game is not finished. I can definitively see the story stretching on much further than it does right now, which will be good. The art style is very simple and pixelated but I personally like this. The puzzles are mostly fun using some interesting game mechanics. However, a few of the forest levels seem a little odd and after a while the mechanics get a little boring. Therefore, I feel that introducing some new arrow types, perhaps playing with the speed or having a temporary arrow that can be used twice, would be nice. I’d also like to see some further use of the bridge.
– Real player with 11.0 hrs in game
A=B
Good programming game. The concept is very simple, but the problems are complex and challenging, and with all keywords “a=b” language is actually Turing-complete, so this is fun.
– Real player with 18.9 hrs in game
I haven’t played much of the game, but I’ve beaten chapters 1 and (almost) 2, and it seems quite fun. However, you should be aware that the game doesn’t strictly stick to having A=B be the only instruction - but so far the extra mechanics seem scaled back enough that it’s still true to the spirit of the idea.
Despite that, I’m enjoying my time with the game a lot. It encourages you to think outside the box and the restricted instruction sets make it very interesting to solve problems. I do wish the main menu was a bit more inviting (give some sort of indicator of where to click first perhaps?) as it does drop you in with little fanfare, but overall I’d say it’s a good purchase at the modest price tag it has right now. Very cool and fun concept :)
– Real player with 13.3 hrs in game
SHENZHEN I/O
10/10
I had a lot of spare time over a 4 day period and 40+ hours of that time went into this game alone, nothing can describe enough how amazing this game is. The core of this game can be summed up with the phrase ‘fun embedded electronics programming’, it’s not overly complicated but will also pose a challenge to those out there who love solving puzzles or optimising code.
The game is simple to start playing, you are placed onto a dashboard with 2 main buttons ‘conceptMAIL’ and ‘Datasheets’. Your first email will ask you to read through the ‘Datasheets’ which is a printable PDF ( you don’t have to print it, but it does make referencing easier ), it’s a fairly short read and is something you can come back to if you’ve any queries or is required for your project. Once you’re finished, you can start your first lot of puzzles, which eases you into the UI and teaches you the basic principles of I/O control.
– Real player with 80.3 hrs in game
You may be wondering why I’m thumbing down a game I’ve spent over 70 hours playing. I did enjoy the game, but I simply cannot recommend it to anyone except the most hardcore fans of Zachtronics' other games. And Shenzhen I/O is the only Zachtronics game which I’ve had no desire to replay.
My biggest complaint is the size of the boards. They are unfairly small.
In Zach’s other games, constantly adding and testing parts is how I would work my way through the logic of the puzzle, step by step. You could make a big messy solution at first, and then worry about optimizing it later. But Shenzhen I/O actively discourages you from playing this way, especially after the first campaign is over. There is simply not enough room on the later boards to reasonably work with.
– Real player with 77.9 hrs in game
Learning Factory
As a big fan of simulators (especially building-type simulators), I was excited to check this game out from the second it popped up on my gaming feed. It’s still in Early Access so it’s not quite complete, but you’ll still be able to put in quite some time to getting your factory up to tip top shape.
PROS:
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Nothing really costs too much money, so as long as you keep your researchers busy learning new things, you can make a large factory/shops with ease.
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Once you craft something, it’s yours forever. If you place it down, you can just pick it right back up.
– Real player with 20.9 hrs in game
Highly recommended, I bought it the moment the lovely Discord staff said it was up on Steam for sale.
Keeping in mind, this is an Early Access game, so some features will be inevitably changed, but so far, the game is so reminiscent of Factorio. Within the two hours of me playing this game, it had me do some quests that get you a little taste of the game.
Fair Warning, this game is buggy. It just got released a few hours ago. Have some faith you people.
I personally have beef with that delayed crafting bug.
– Real player with 10.2 hrs in game
Turing Complete
Fantastic Game. It scratches an itch I didn’t even realize I had. This contains the essence of a university level introduction to Computer Hardware course, disguised as a game. In fact, it surpasses it in some ways. I never actually did get to build an entire functional computer in University, but you do here. In university we built some circuits, and had to use our imagination how it would fit into a complete architecture, and then jumped to learning to program the already existing Motorola 68K. In this “game”, not only do you build a fully functional computer (vitually, of course), but you also design the instruction set and assembly language that goes with it. And once you’re done with the in-game challengese, you still have the sandbox and all the components to do something on your own… like build an actual Motorola 68K.
– Real player with 180.1 hrs in game
I’ve been a professional software developer for almost a decade, and I’ve never been more proud of anything I’ve ever built than when I wrote a program to solve a maze in an assembly language that I encoded on a computer I built from scratch in this game. I feel like for the first time I REALLY understand how a computer works, and it is incredibly gratifying.
I’ve been playing games like Factorio, Infinifactor, Shinzen I/O, TIS-100, Astroneer. Minecraft, “While True: Learn()”, etc., but it turns out that this is the itch I was trying to scratch the whole time. And in the sense of scratching that itch, this is the best game I’ve ever played.
– Real player with 100.3 hrs in game