Games Like TIS-100

BUILD CIRCUITS. WRITE CODE. RTFM.

Why similar: Programming 77.3% ★, Puzzle 4.5%, Logic 4.2%, Automation 4.1%, Difficult 4%

Why You'll Like It: Created by the same developers, this game features similar assembly-based programming and hardware design challenges.

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 68.1% ★, Hacking 13.6% ★, Puzzle 5.3%, Logic 3.6%, Automation 3.5%

Why You'll Like It: This game captures the gritty, terminal-based hacking aesthetic while requiring you to write code for distributed network agents.

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 72.6% ★, Puzzle 9.9%, Automation 5.9%, Logic 4.7%, Simulation 2.9%

Why You'll Like It: It shares the Zachtronics focus on optimization and efficiency, though it replaces code with mechanical assembly lines.

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 80.9% ★, Puzzle 6.5%, Education 3.1%, Automation 2.1%, Difficult 1.9%

Why You'll Like It: This game teaches assembly-like logic through a visual, office-themed interface that is highly accessible yet deeply challenging.

Learn CPU architecture with puzzles

Why similar: Programming 70.9% ★, Hacking 6.3% ★, Logic 6.2%, Puzzle 4.9%, Education 4.2%

Why You'll Like It: This game takes you from building basic logic gates to constructing a fully functional computer architecture from scratch.

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 82.8% ★, Puzzle 6.3%, Logic 3.1%, Simulation 2.4%, Education 2.4%

Why You'll Like It: A sequel to Human Resource Machine that introduces parallel processing, forcing you to manage multiple workers simultaneously.

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 68.1% ★, Puzzle 11.9%, Difficult 9.4%, Logic 5%, Automation 2.8%

Why You'll Like It: An early Zachtronics title that focuses on chemical automation and complex logic flow, perfect for fans of TIS-100's difficulty.

Infinifactory is a sandbox puzzle game by Zachtronics, the creators of SpaceChem and Infiniminer. Build factories that assemble products for your alien overlords, and try not to die in the process.

Why similar: Programming 68.5% ★, Puzzle 10.9%, Automation 6.4%, Difficult 5.5%, Simulation 3.3%

Why You'll Like It: This 3D puzzle game emphasizes spatial automation and assembly, sharing the signature Zachtronics design philosophy.

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 65% ★, Hacking 11.4% ★, Difficult 5.9%, Puzzle 5.9%, Simulation 5.8%

Why You'll Like It: It focuses on building logic circuits and assembly-like systems to solve data processing tasks under strict constraints.

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 77.8% ★, Puzzle 5.8%, Simulation 5.8%, Education 4.1%, Difficult 4%

Why You'll Like It: A hardware design simulator where you build a computer from basic gates, appealing to those who enjoy the low-level technicality of TIS-100.

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

Why similar: Programming 74.5% ★, Puzzle 9.6%, Simulation 6.5%, Automation 4.9%, Logic 1.9%

Why You'll Like It: Another Zachtronics title that combines chemistry-themed puzzles with a restrictive, code-like instruction set.

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 62.8% ★, Hacking 10.1% ★, Puzzle 8%, Logic 7.7%, Automation 5.7%

Why You'll Like It: This game uses modular synthesis to teach logic and signal processing, mirroring the technical complexity of TIS-100.

A=B is a programming puzzle game with only one instruction: A=B, which means replacing A with B.

Why similar: Programming 74.1% ★, Puzzle 8.5%, Education 5%, Hacking 5% ★, Automation 4.1%

Why You'll Like It: A minimalist programming puzzle game where you rewrite code to match target strings, focusing purely on logic and transformation.

You’re a machine learning specialist who makes neural networks but your cat seems to be better at it. Now you must solve puzzles to build a cat-to-human translation system (who knows what else this cat is capable of!). Earn a fortune, buy kickass cat outfits, learn how machine learning really works!

Why similar: Programming 82.1% ★, Puzzle 6%, Education 5.2%, Simulation 3.5%, Logic 1.5%

Why You'll Like It: This game introduces machine learning concepts through visual programming puzzles that are both educational and rewarding.

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 76.6% ★, Hacking 13.5% ★, Automation 4.1%, Puzzle 2.3%, Simulation 1.7%

Why You'll Like It: A deep, terminal-based hacking game that allows you to write actual JavaScript to automate your criminal empire.

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 78.8% ★, Automation 4.9%, Logic 4.9%, Puzzle 4.7%, Education 4.1%

Why You'll Like It: A unique blend of idler mechanics and Python-like programming that requires you to automate a farm through code.

Retrace the path of the Prime Mover to uncover the story of the Byte of Burden! Prime Mover is an open-ended puzzle game about designing circuit boards.

Why similar: Programming 78.5% ★, Puzzle 7.8%, Simulation 4.5%, Difficult 4.3%, Education 2.4%

Why You'll Like It: You design circuit boards to solve logic puzzles, focusing on efficiency and spatial constraints similar to Zachtronics games.

Screeps: World is an open source MMO strategy sandbox game for programming enthusiasts. You control your colony by writing JavaScript code that operates 24/7 in the huge persistent online open world.

Why similar: Programming 66.4% ★, Hacking 17% ★, Difficult 8%, Automation 5.6%, Simulation 3.1%

Why You'll Like It: An MMO strategy game where you control your units entirely through real JavaScript code, perfect for those wanting a persistent programming challenge.

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 60.9% ★, Programming 28.9% ★, Difficult 3.1%, Logic 2.5%, Simulation 1.9%

Why You'll Like It: This terminal-based hacking simulator provides an immersive experience that feels like authentic command-line interaction.

Baba Is You is a puzzle game where the rules you have to follow are present as blocks you can interact with. By manipulating them, you can change how the game works, repurpose things you find in the levels and cause surprising interactions!

Why similar: Programming 56.9% ★, Puzzle 17.1%, Difficult 14.2%, Logic 8.1%, Indie 2.7%

Why You'll Like It: While not a programming game, it features a rule-manipulation mechanic that feels like debugging code to change the game's logic.

Comet 64 is a programming puzzle game. The year is 1984. All you got is a Comet 64 home computer and the operator's manual it came with.

Why similar: Programming 62.7% ★, Hacking 10.8% ★, Difficult 5.9%, Puzzle 5.9%, Education 3.7%

Why You'll Like It: A retro-styled programming puzzle game that forces you to work within the limitations of a fictional 8-bit computer.

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 70.4% ★, Difficult 8.5%, Puzzle 6.8%, Logic 6.5%, Education 3.7%

Why You'll Like It: A puzzle game where you guide robots through levels using a custom programming language, emphasizing logic and sequence.

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 78.9%, Simulation 13%, Indie 5%, Singleplayer 3.1%

Why You'll Like It: While primarily a factory builder, its late-game circuit network logic offers a deep programming-like experience.

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 85.7% ★, Automation 7.5%, Simulation 4.7%, Indie 1.9%, Singleplayer 0.2%

Why You'll Like It: It combines colony building with a visual programming language to automate tasks, perfect for fans of logic-based automation.

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 80.5% ★, Puzzle 7.2%, Simulation 6.8%, Education 3.3%, Indie 2.2%

Why You'll Like It: This simulation game allows you to build and program robots to solve complex tasks, focusing on mechanical and logical design.

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 67.6% ★, Difficult 6.8%, Logic 5.9%, Puzzle 5.9%, Automation 4.9%

Glitchspace is about reprogramming the game to solve puzzles. Trapped in an abstract cyberspace world, your way forward uses visual programming to edit environmental geometry, whilst unlocking key programming concepts along the way.

Why similar: Programming 82.4% ★, Hacking 8.6% ★, Puzzle 7.2%, Indie 1.9%

Why You'll Like It: A first-person puzzle game that uses a visual programming interface to modify the properties of objects in the world.

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 87.8% ★, Puzzle 7.7%, Simulation 4.5%

Hack ‘n’ Slash is a puzzle action game about hacking -- reprogram object properties, hijack global variables, hack creature behavior, and even rewrite the game’s code. The only way to win is not to play...by the rules!

Why similar: Programming 64.7% ★, Hacking 24.2% ★, Puzzle 8.2%, Indie 2.3%, Singleplayer 0.6%

Why You'll Like It: An action-adventure game where you must hack the game's internal variables and code to progress through the world.

Alan's Automaton Workshop is an open-ended programming puzzle game. Start a new business with Alan Turing and his groundbreaking innovation: the Turing Machine. Build unique automatons, and solve all kinds of problems from clients.

Why similar: Programming 71.1% ★, Puzzle 6.6%, Logic 6.1%, Automation 5.8%, Education 5.8%

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

Why similar: Programming 80.5% ★, Hacking 17.3% ★, Indie 1.7%, Singleplayer 0.5%

Why You'll Like It: An open-world game where you can hack the source code of the world itself to manipulate objects and environments.

Build, debug and optimize a computer network in an underground facility.

Why similar: Programming 63.6% ★, Hacking 15.3% ★, Logic 7.4%, Puzzle 6.2%, Automation 5.4%

Design, optimize, and reverse-engineer real quantum algorithms in an open-ended Zachlike puzzle game. Solve 500+ optimization challenges, hack player creations, and master quantum logic without coding.

Why similar: Programming 54.5% ★, Hacking 14.5% ★, Difficult 7.3%, Logic 5.8%, Puzzle 5.6%

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 65.6% ★, Puzzle 7.6%, Difficult 7.2%, Logic 6.2%, Simulation 5.9%

A single bit of computer memory became sentient and decided to escape from digital into the real world. Explore RAM, modify bytes and hack machine code and CPU registers to set it free.

Why similar: Programming 59.2% ★, Hacking 15% ★, Simulation 5.2%, Puzzle 5%, Logic 4.9%

Use real Python code to automate machines, robots, drones and more: Program self-driving vehicles; crack passwords; apply machine learning; automate logistics; use image processing to guide missiles. Gain real coding skills and solve exciting bite-sized programming challenges.

Why similar: Programming 57.4% ★, Hacking 12.7% ★, Logic 6.4%, Puzzle 5.9%, Automation 5.4%

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 57.5% ★, Hacking 13.5% ★, Difficult 6.2%, Logic 5.8%, Puzzle 5.3%

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 63.7% ★, Hacking 12.8% ★, Puzzle 5.7%, Automation 5.1%, Logic 4.2%

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 55.1% ★, Hacking 13.6% ★, Coding 6.7% ★, Difficult 5.6%, Automation 4.4%

U.V.S. Nirmana is a engineering puzzle game from Coincidence, the creators of Kaizen: A Factory Story and the inventors of the Zach-like. Set off on the Unreturning Void Ship Nirmana as it continues a journey of uncountable eons toward the edge of the universe.

Why similar: Programming 80.2% ★, Puzzle 7.4%, Logic 6.6%, Automation 2.7%, Simulation 1.6%

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 73.8% ★, Automation 8.4%, Puzzle 8%, Logic 6.4%, Simulation 2.1%

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: Programming 64.5% ★, Hacking 26.4% ★, Simulation 4%, Logic 2.2%, Education 1.7%

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 64% ★, Hacking 12.3% ★, Logic 5.8%, Education 4.8%, Puzzle 4.4%

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 64.4% ★, Hacking 9.5% ★, Logic 5.7%, Coding 5% ★, Puzzle 4.7%

Pilot drones into derelict spaceships to find the means to survive and piece together how the universe became a giant graveyard.

Why similar: Programming 64.8% ★, Hacking 17.8% ★, Difficult 8.1%, Puzzle 6.5%, Simulation 2.7%

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

Why similar: Programming 55.5% ★, Hacking 12% ★, Puzzle 8.3%, Automation 7.3%, Education 6.9%

CODE OR DIE! Hack enemy systems & survive the security response by engineering lethal bullet-heaven algorithms. Your brain power determines your firepower across 190+ programming nodes. Debug your failures. Optimize your code. Complete the heist. HACK THE PLANET!

Why similar: Programming 66.2% ★, Hacking 18% ★, Difficult 8.5%, Logic 6.8%, Singleplayer 0.5%

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 55.3% ★, Hacking 13.8% ★, Difficult 7.2%, Logic 6%, Puzzle 5.6%

[the Sequence] is a logic construction puzzler.Let your mind be your guide: Lay down seven different kinds of modules as your roadblocks to get you (portrayed as a binary data point) to a sweet destination.Apply an out-of-the-box thinking to get you to the next level!

Why similar: Programming 69.5% ★, Puzzle 7.5%, Difficult 7.5%, Logic 7.2%, Automation 6.8%

SIC-1 is a single-instruction programming game. Neglect your personal life in pursuit of promotions and vague assurances of job security! Optimize your programs to rise to the top of the leaderboards! SIC Systems thanks you for your hard work! Now please return to your desk.

Why similar: Programming 66.2% ★, Hacking 7.4% ★, Puzzle 6.5%, Logic 6.1%, Difficult 5.5%

You land on a frozen planet in a tiny rocket with a robot inside. Harvest and combine materials to discover new ones. Use visual programming to make the robot do the tiresome work for you. Slowly build a gang of self-sustaining robot workers and watch them terraform the planet.

Why similar: Programming 75.2% ★, Puzzle 7.4%, Automation 6.5%, Education 6.4%, Simulation 2.7%

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 62.5% ★, Hacking 12% ★, Difficult 8.7%, Puzzle 5.7%, Education 5.3%

Word Factori is a word-building game where your only resource is the letter "i". Build a chain of factories to bend, rotate, reflect, and merge "i" into more complex letters. Discover secret letter recipes, unlock hidden word art, and optimize your factory chains for high scores.

Why similar: Programming 72.6% ★, Puzzle 7.9%, Logic 7.7%, Automation 6.3%, Simulation 3.6%

Copy Editor is an intricate puzzle game that teaches you Regular Expressions (RegEx), commonly used in computer science and language theory. Build complex rules that process and revise famous texts for your wacky and demanding publisher!

Why similar: Programming 69.3% ★, Hacking 12.5% ★, Puzzle 8%, Simulation 4.7%, Education 4.5%

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 67.9% ★, Hacking 11.9% ★, Automation 8.5%, Simulation 6.1%, Logic 5.6%

Minesweeper, but you only solve each situation once.

Why similar: Programming 61.1% ★, Puzzle 14.3%, Automation 10.5%, Logic 6.8%, Education 5.9%

An ultra-precise 2D platformer where you give robots instructions instead of directly controlling them. Master the campaign levels or create and share your own. “It’s Mario Maker with coding” - Lewis Brindley, Yogscast.

Why similar: Programming 75.4% ★, Hacking 11.7% ★, Logic 5.2%, Puzzle 3.9%, Automation 3.4%

Uplink lets you play as a freelance hacker tackling risky contracts for corporations. Break into systems, steal data, sabotage rivals, and upgrade your gear. Support factions or go rogue in this immersive, strategy-driven hacking simulation game where your choices shape the outcome.

Why similar: Programming 55.5% ★, Hacking 32.2% ★, Puzzle 5.8%, Simulation 3.4%, Indie 2.1%

hackmud is a retro cyberpunk RPG where you play a digital persona in a chaotic, unpredictable, and often goofy abandoned internet. Enter a 90s hacker movie filled with scripts, scams, and sabotage. Explore the world of digital secrets and forge your legacy through cunning, creativity, or disruption.

Why similar: Programming 68.3% ★, Hacking 20.2% ★, Puzzle 4.9%, Simulation 3.3%, Indie 1.8%

In a future where food is the ultimate symbol of status, you are a recipe programming technician for a ruthless aristocracy. Create, test and optimize your culinary machines in this deliciously dark zach-like!

Why similar: Programming 72.9% ★, Automation 7.1%, Logic 6.9%, Puzzle 6.6%, Simulation 3.7%