Games Like JOY OF PROGRAMMING - Software Engineering Simulator

Learn CPU architecture with puzzles

Why similar: Programming 28.9% ★, Automation 20.2%, Hacking 15.4% ★, Logic 13.1%, Education 11.8%

Why You'll Like It: This game offers a deep dive into computer architecture, letting you build a functional computer from basic logic gates.

BUILD CIRCUITS. WRITE CODE. RTFM.

Why similar: Programming 49.1% ★, Automation 19.1%, Logic 10%, Education 7.4%, Puzzle 4.9%

Why You'll Like It: A quintessential Zachtronics title that tasks you with building circuits and writing assembly code to solve complex engineering problems.

TIS-100 is an open-ended programming game by Zachtronics, the creators of SpaceChem and Infinifactory, in which you rewrite corrupted code segments to repair the TIS-100 and unlock its secrets. It’s the assembly language programming game you never asked for!

Why similar: Programming 57.6% ★, Hacking 12.5% ★, Logic 6.4%, Puzzle 6%, Automation 5.1%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on low-level assembly programming and optimizing code to repair a corrupted computer system.

You're a programmer. Your cat is a better one. Solve visual puzzles built from real machine learning ideas, from decision trees to neural networks, to create a cat-to-human translator. Take freelance jobs, upgrade your rig, gamble on startups, dress up the cat. No coding required, curiosity is.

Why similar: Programming 50.2% ★, Education 20.8%, Science 14.2%, Puzzle 6.3%, Simulation 5%

Why You'll Like It: Explores the concepts of machine learning and data processing through accessible, logic-based puzzles.

The year is 1997. You used to be a hacker, but now you have the phage. You made a deal: one hack, one dose. There’s nothing left to lose… except your life.

Why similar: Programming 42.1% ★, Hacking 22.4% ★, Automation 15.8%, Logic 8.4%, Puzzle 5.7%

Why You'll Like It: Allows you to write scripts for hacking robots and systems in a gritty, cyberpunk-themed puzzle environment.

Program little office workers to solve puzzles. Be a good employee! The machines are coming... for your job. From the creators of World of Goo and Little Inferno.

Why similar: Programming 57.1% ★, Education 14.2%, Automation 10.6%, Puzzle 7.9%, Logic 4.9%

Why You'll Like It: A clever puzzle game that teaches the fundamentals of assembly-style programming through office-themed tasks.

Automate swarms of office workers to solve puzzles inside your very own parallel computer made of people. A thrilling followup to the award winning Human Resource Machine. Now with more humans!

Why similar: Programming 60.9% ★, Education 11.4%, Logic 8.5%, Puzzle 7.9%, Automation 7.1%

Why You'll Like It: The sequel to Human Resource Machine, introducing parallel processing and more complex logic challenges.

Bitburner is a programming-based incremental game. Write scripts in JavaScript to automate gameplay, learn skills, play minigames, solve puzzles, and more in this cyberpunk text-based incremental RPG.

Why similar: Programming 47.9% ★, Hacking 22.7% ★, Automation 18.5%, Education 5.4%, Puzzle 2.5%

Why You'll Like It: A unique game where you write actual JavaScript to automate hacking and manage resources in a persistent world.

Program and optimize a drone to automate a farm and watch it do the work for you. Collect resources to unlock better technology and become the most efficient farmer in the world. Improve your problem solving and coding skills.

Why similar: Programming 44.8% ★, Automation 20.7%, Education 15.2%, Logic 10.2%, Puzzle 4.5%

Why You'll Like It: A minimalist game that uses Python-like syntax to automate farming and optimize production cycles.

Assemble your robot squad, construct their AI and send them in the battle arena to see your strategy play out. Iterate, improve and repeat until you outsmart all your opponents and friends online.

Why similar: Programming 44.9% ★, Robots 16.8%, Strategy 10.9%, Logic 10.6%, Automation 7.1%

Why You'll Like It: Features a visual programming interface to design the AI logic for robots that fight autonomously in an arena.

In Autonauts you must build, create, and automate. Start by establishing a colony, crafting bots and teaching them via Scratch-style programming to build an ever evolving autonomous paradise of agriculture, industry and enlightenment.

Why similar: Programming 52.1% ★, Automation 33.8%, Robots 6.6%, Simulation 6.5%, Strategy 1%

Why You'll Like It: Uses a flowchart-based programming language to teach robots how to automate tasks and build a thriving colony.

Program a crew of tiny robots to turn a frozen planet into a living world. Connect visual code blocks, automate crafting, and build a workforce that fuels itself. Keep the heat flowing, refine your machines, and watch your ideas come to life.

Why similar: Programming 33.8% ★, Automation 21.4%, Education 18.7%, Robots 15.9%, Puzzle 5.7%

Why You'll Like It: Combines survival elements with visual programming to automate the terraforming of a frozen planet.

You’re the designer, engineer and architect if you can imagine it you can create it! Construct robots of any shape or size from eight-legged spider bots to eerie UFO contraptions.

Why similar: Programming 23.2% ★, Science 15%, Automation 12.9%, Robots 12.4%, Education 10.5%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on building custom robots and using a visual programming system to control their movement and behavior.

Powerful Realtime 3D Electronic Circuit Simulator

Why similar: Programming 38.7% ★, Education 20.5%, Logic 12.7%, Simulation 8.3%, Immersive Sim 8.1%

Why You'll Like It: Offers a realistic approach to electronics and circuit design, perfect for those interested in the hardware side of programming.

Virtual Circuit Board is the sandbox drawing-based logic simulator where you can build, program, decorate, and simulate anything from simple monochrome circuits to complex and colorful computers. Play with digital logic in this sandbox-only experience.

Why similar: Programming 26% ★, Hacking 16.2% ★, Automation 15%, Education 13.4%, Science 13.1%

Why You'll Like It: Provides a sandbox environment for building and testing complex electronic circuits without the constraints of traditional levels.

Invent a new computer! Logic World is a first-person sandbox simulation game that's all about digital logic. Play alone or with friends, design unique machines, build up layers of complexity, and experience the joy of circuits!

Why similar: Programming 21.9% ★, Hacking 14.9% ★, Science 13.4%, Automation 13%, Education 11%

Why You'll Like It: A sandbox game that allows for the creation of complex digital logic circuits in a 3D environment.

Hard Chip is a 3D simulation/puzzle game about building processors focusing on realism. Explore the world of semiconductor chip design and delve into the intricacies of CPU logic, floor planning, and propagation delay.

Why similar: Programming 23.5% ★, Hacking 15.5% ★, Science 13.7%, Automation 11.9%, Education 11.5%

Why You'll Like It: A challenging simulation that focuses on logic design and hardware programming in a minimalist aesthetic.

Build the most advanced operating system ever created! Can you master the fictional simulation language of this mind-bending machine? Design circuits, automate UBITS (coloured mobile data blocks), and optimize your system. The Admin is always watching, and he’s not what he seems.

Why similar: Programming 32.3% ★, Automation 19%, Hacking 17.3% ★, Education 12.6%, Logic 8.1%

Why You'll Like It: A complex automation and programming puzzle game that requires precise logic to manage data streams.

Bring to life anything you can imagine from rockets and airplanes to cars and more. Automate them with a visual programming language. Explore 3D planets and make your own. Share your creations online. Complete contracts, conquer milestones, and unlock technology in the newly added Career Mode.

Why similar: Programming 25.5% ★, Science 17.9%, Automation 13.4%, Education 12.6%, Moddable 12.1%

Why You'll Like It: Features a powerful flight computer and programming system for controlling complex aerospace vehicles.

Robo Instructus is a puzzle game in which players manoeuvre a robot by issuing instructions via a simple programming language. As players progress through the game they unlock new functions to overcome new puzzles, each of which can be solved in multiple ways.

Why similar: Programming 39.3% ★, Robots 15.7%, Logic 13.7%, Education 13.6%, Difficult 8.2%

Why You'll Like It: Requires players to write code to navigate robots through increasingly difficult puzzle environments.

⚡️Fix electronics 📈manage firm 💻challenge the hacker... ServiceIT is a simulation game where you run a full-service IT company to engage in tasks like diagnosing, repairing equipment, network infiltration, programming, server management while an Anonymous hacker keeps sabotaging it all.

Why similar: Programming 34.5% ★, Hacking 24.6% ★, Education 18.6%, Immersive Sim 7.8%, Simulation 4.8%

Why You'll Like It: Simulates the life of an IT professional, incorporating hacking and system maintenance tasks.

Build hardware. Solve puzzles. From the creator of Manufactoria, a new open-ended puzzle game set in Silicon Valley's first startup.

Why similar: Programming 43.6% ★, Hacking 20.3% ★, Education 13.5%, Simulation 9%, Puzzle 6.8%

Why You'll Like It: A puzzle game focused on designing computer architecture and logic gates to solve computational tasks.

Logicats is a beginner-friendly programming game. Learn programming concepts through reading code in a fun and effective way. Perfect for classrooms or at home. Start your programming journey today!

Why similar: Programming 41.2% ★, Science 24.7%, Logic 17.2%, Puzzle 8.2%, Education 5.1%

Why You'll Like It: A charming, accessible puzzle game that introduces programming concepts through cat-themed logic challenges.

MHRD is a hardware design game, in which you design various hardware circuits in a hardware description language. The hardware circuits you design get more complex as you go until you create a fully functional CPU design.

Why similar: Programming 57.6% ★, Education 20%, Simulation 9.9%, Puzzle 7.4%, Difficult 5.1%

Why You'll Like It: A hardware design simulation that tasks you with building a CPU from the ground up using a hardware description language.

Factorio is a game about building and creating automated factories to produce items of increasing complexity, within an infinite 2D world. Use your imagination to design your factory, combine simple elements into ingenious structures, and finally protect it from the creatures who don't really like you.

Why similar: Automation 74.9%, Moddable 17.9%, Simulation 3.9%, Strategy 3.3%

Why You'll Like It: The definitive automation game that requires complex logistics and circuit network management to succeed.

shapez is an easy-going, minimalistic factory building game about the automation of shapes through extraction and satisfying production lines. Adapt to increasingly complex shapes and grow your factory across an infinitely expanding map. Your only limitation is your creativity!

Why similar: Automation 54.3%, Moddable 18.7%, Logic 12.4%, Puzzle 6.6%, Simulation 4.2%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on the logic of automation and logistics, requiring players to build efficient factories to process geometric shapes.

A terminal-based game for learning and practicing how to program in Python.

Why similar: Programming 51.7% ★, Education 21.6%, Science 13.4%, Logic 13.3%

Why You'll Like It: A straightforward educational tool designed to teach Python syntax through bite-sized, text-based challenges.

OCTOPTICOM is an open-ended puzzle programming game about designing and optimizing optical computing devices. Use lasers, mirrors, filters and other components to read, transform and write sequences of colored squares.

Why similar: Programming 33.9% ★, Science 19.4%, Education 14.5%, Logic 12.2%, Simulation 7%

Why You'll Like It: A logic-heavy puzzle game that requires optimizing data flow and signal processing.

Hacknet is an immersive, terminal-based hacking simulator for PC. Dive down a rabbit hoIe as you follow the instructions of a recently deceased hacker, whose death may not have been the accident the media reports.

Why similar: Hacking 72.9% ★, Programming 13.1% ★, Education 5.5%, Logic 4.3%, Difficult 2.4%

Why You'll Like It: A terminal-based hacking simulator that uses real-world command-line logic to progress through the story.

Step into the world of IT! Diagnose network issues, manage servers, and repair devices while handling tasks under strict SLAs. Choose your career path, from HelpDesk to IT Project Manager. Develop real IT knowledge and climb the ranks in this realistic IT simulation!

Why similar: Programming 29.6% ★, Education 16.2%, Hacking 15% ★, Moddable 11.6%, Immersive Sim 7.8%

A game about friendship, love and technology in a place where bits have replaced atoms.

Why similar: Programming 63.6% ★, Hacking 36.4% ★

Why You'll Like It: An open-world adventure where you can modify the game's source code to change the behavior of objects and the environment.

Dive into SirKwitz: a beginner-friendly edutainment game that makes learning programming easy & fun! Explore 28 puzzles across four topics to master the very core concepts behind programming and develop your problem-solving skills. Ideal for those that think coding & programming are scary words!

Why similar: Programming 30.8% ★, Education 19.7%, Robots 13.9%, Automation 13.4%, Logic 11.7%

Milling machine simulator will inspire novices and experts alike. Realistic physics and movements allow you to familiarize yourself with the machine in a 3D workshop setting. Enjoy playing around, learning and prototyping in Free milling mode. Or challenge yourself in Career mode.

Why similar: Programming 30.5% ★, Education 16.3%, Automation 16.2%, Moddable 13.7%, Physics 7.1%

See the logic all of us obey. Design, optimize, and reverse-engineer real quantum algorithms in an open-ended Zachlike puzzle game. Solve 500+ visual puzzles and hack other players’ creations. No coding or physics background required.

Why similar: Programming 21.2% ★, Hacking 15.1% ★, Science 13.9%, Automation 13.1%, Education 11%

PLC Ladder Logic programming simulator.

Why similar: Automation 35.6%, Education 31.4%, Physics 12%, Puzzle 9%, Simulation 6.2%

A sci-fi management game where you build and optimize your computer's system from the ground up. Connect and configure interconnected nodes to efficiently download, process, and upload files. Manage your setup, solve system challenges, and become the ultimate system architect

Why similar: Programming 32.2% ★, Automation 30.2%, Hacking 15.1% ★, Logic 9.8%, Simulation 6.7%

World of Contraptions is a physics-based building game in which you build the most varied contraptions to solve the most diverse types of puzzles. Win dozens of levels with different types of obstacles. Design the best contraption for each challenge using a giant collection of blocks.

Why similar: Programming 19.3% ★, Science 14.9%, Robots 13.1%, Automation 12.7%, Education 10.1%

Retro Gadgets is a sandbox where you build, code, and customize gadgets inspired by old-school electronics.

Why similar: Programming 24.9% ★, Automation 23.2%, Education 19.6%, Hacking 13.7% ★, Logic 8.1%

Opus Magnum is the latest open-ended puzzle game from Zachtronics, the creators of SpaceChem, Infinifactory, and SHENZHEN I/O. Design and build machines that assemble potions, poisons, and more using the alchemical engineer’s most advanced tool: the transmutation engine!

Why similar: Programming 45.2% ★, Automation 26.8%, Logic 11.1%, Puzzle 10.6%, Simulation 4%

Set in a post-apocalyptic future, The Signal State puts your logic skills to the test with complex puzzles inspired by modular synthesizers. Repair machines, rebuild an abandoned farm, and be part of a revolution that will change the fate of agriculture once and for all.

Why similar: Programming 25.8% ★, Automation 16.9%, Logic 11.9%, Moddable 11.8%, Hacking 11% ★

Move Code Lines is a game where you fix programs and make them print needed output. But the only way you can achieve that is to change the order of lines in those programs, and set custom input.

Why similar: Programming 29.8% ★, Hacking 19.6% ★, Automation 17.4%, Education 13.5%, Logic 8.3%

Design, build and wire up your own unique robot to complete challenging logic puzzles. LogicBots is a puzzle game where robots are used to complete the various levels.

Why similar: Programming 47.2% ★, Robots 23.9%, Education 12.5%, Simulation 9.2%, Puzzle 7.3%

The Qubit Factory is an open-ended puzzle game incorporating real-life concepts from the cutting-edge field of quantum computing. Design and build logic circuits that manipulate bits and qubits (quantum bits) to solve devious computational challenges!

Why similar: Programming 30.4% ★, Automation 18.1%, Logic 10.6%, Education 10.5%, Science 9.6%

A game about building emulators! Implement your own NEEES core in JavaScript, get instant feedback with unit/video tests, build the graphics unit in real time, learn 6502 assembly, debug test ROMs, and have fun with the included homebrew games!

Why similar: Programming 40.9% ★, Education 16.6%, Hacking 16.1% ★, Logic 13.7%, Puzzle 5.2%

Zachtronics is back with an ambitious new design-based puzzle game. Take on the role of a Reactor Engineer working for SpaceChem, the leading chemical synthesizer for frontier colonies. Construct elaborate factories to transform raw materials into valuable chemical products!

Why similar: Programming 42.2% ★, Automation 12.8%, Puzzle 12.7%, Logic 11.7%, Difficult 10%

Crack simulated safe locks using real techniques!

Why similar: Education 32.4%, Hacking 21% ★, Simulation 13.6%, Puzzle 11.8%, Physics 9.1%

Enter the most advanced challenge laboratory of today's games, where electronics and logic merge into challenges that will captivate your mind and awaken the engineer within you!

Why similar: Education 28.6%, Automation 21.2%, Logic 12.1%, Puzzle 9.3%, Simulation 7.6%

A rich and challenging physics-based puzzle /logic /construction /programming game! Master ballistics, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, chemical and nuclear reactions, use automation bricks, build structures, machines, vehicles, produce power, solve puzzles, pierce the fog and defeat CHR$!

Why similar: Programming 35.4% ★, Automation 29.4%, Logic 11.7%, Physics 10%, Puzzle 6.6%

A minimalist programming puzzle game based on the esoteric language Brainfuck. Learn its rules, solve clever challenges, and even run your code in an external terminal.

Why similar: Programming 49.1% ★, Education 22.6%, Automation 21.2%, Puzzle 7.1%

Design increasingly complex computation units powered by high pressure steam. From switches to steam based computers, all in a world of analogue pressure devices. Use previous designs to solve further challenges, unravel the mystery of the missing steam and discover a new field of science.

Why similar: Programming 30.3% ★, Automation 19.8%, Science 17.6%, Education 14.2%, Physics 6.1%

Use the MOLEK-SYNTEZ to create small molecules with various pharmacological effects from the comfort of your small Romanian apartment.

Why similar: Programming 39.4% ★, Science 20.8%, Automation 19%, Puzzle 8.9%, Simulation 7.9%

A deep automation and programming game on a frozen alien planet. Write real code to drive rovers, run power grids, fabricate parts, and fly drone fleets across the world. Your scripts run while you plan your next move. The more you terraform, the more the planet responds.

Why similar: Programming 50.9% ★, Automation 32.5%, Puzzle 7.5%, Simulation 6.3%, Strategy 2.7%

Replicube is an open-ended programming puzzle game/toy about writing code to replicate 3D voxel-based objects. Solve puzzles, pursue leaderboard glory, or just make art to share with the in-game community.

Why similar: Programming 72.2% ★, Puzzle 10.8%, Level Editor 8.8%, Simulation 8.3%

Build and grow your very own computer repair enterprise as you learn to diagnose, fix and build PCs. With real-world licensed components and comprehensive hardware and software simulation, you can plan and bring your ultimate PC to life.

Why similar: Education 47.6%, Immersive Sim 21.5%, Simulation 12.9%, Realistic 7.2%, Puzzle 6.7%

Kaizen is an open-ended puzzle automation game from the original Zachtronics team, set in 1980s Japan. Design, build, and optimize production lines to create iconic products, like calculators, camcorders, and arcade machines.

Why similar: Programming 36.7% ★, Automation 19.5%, Education 13.6%, Logic 12.2%, Difficult 6.4%

Unleash your brainpower in Linkito and ignite the insurgency! Link, build, solve, defuse, and decode by using your logic. Craft your own challenges in the level editor or tackle community creations.

Why similar: Programming 27.2% ★, Moddable 18.3%, Automation 17%, Logic 12.4%, Level Editor 8.6%

Design computational circuits which defy restrictions of our universe in this open-ended puzzle. Your completed creations become components to solve future challenges. As you design a circuit and can place your design within it, where there is a smaller you doing the same, and so on to infinity.

Why similar: Programming 35.3% ★, Science 17.1%, Education 15.4%, Logic 13.7%, Puzzle 6%

Grey Hack is a massively multiplayer hacking simulator game. You're a hacker with full freedom to act as you wish on a vast network of procedurally generated computers.

Why similar: Hacking 40.1% ★, Programming 37.5% ★, Education 6.3%, Simulation 5.3%, Logic 5.1%

MoSimulator is a robotics simulation game with an arcade feel that lets players mod in their own robots. Experience the excitement of competitive student robotics in a fun, accessible format where you can bring your own robot designs to life and compete in simulated matches.

Why similar: Robots 31%, Programming 23.5% ★, Automation 16.4%, Immersive Sim 11.2%, Simulation 9.3%

Take on the electrician role and learn the profession's basics! Install sockets, repair worn-out equipment, assemble broken appliances, replace light bulbs, and lay wires at your customers' homes. Be sure to check everything twice, with electricity there are no jokes!

Why similar: Education 33.2%, Immersive Sim 16.4%, Logic 12.9%, Difficult 11.4%, Simulation 8.6%