Thinky Games

The latest engineering games for Linux

Engineering games are a genre of video games in which players can come up with significantly different solutions to the same task. Engineering games usually rely on a collection of elementary tools that are made available to players with few restrictions, and the gameplay focuses on combining these tools to create complex systems. Since the set of solutions to a problem is open-ended, players are free to construct systems as robust, as efficient — or as messy — as they like. These games provide a way to explore and foster real-life engineering skills in playful environments.

Engineering subgenres include automation games, factory games and programming games. Games that mix automation with setup-and-play are colloquially known as “Zachlikes”. The term was coined after Zachtronics, a studio responsible for influential games such as SpaceChem and Opus Magnum. Engineering games also include building games, such as Mars First Logistics, which make use of a physics engine in a simulation environment to enable players to assemble and run creative mechanical systems.

The follow games are the most recently released engineering games for Linux in the Thinky Games database.

  • Fractal Factory
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Build a conveyor belt factory in a mind-bending, fractal space.
  • SIC-1
    Windows
    Linux
    Reach for high-performance programming from a single-instruction assembly language.
  • Last Call BBS
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Boot up a retro computer and explore a compilation of 8 strange puzzle games.
  • Infinite Turtles
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Create and reuse components recursively to solve open-ended puzzles.
  • Alan's Automaton Workshop
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Design mechanical birds, artificial hearts and coffee machines through state diagrams.
  • Turing Complete
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Simulate anything in a computer, from basic logic gates to advanced CPU instructions.
  • Warp Factory
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Enhance your shape production lines with portal technology.
  • ComPressure
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Design computation units from pressure pipes and steam valves.
  • Factorio
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    Build your factory empire from the simplest elements to the most convoluted infrastructures.
  • shapez
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    iPad
    iPhone
    Android
    Build factories to construct complex shapes in an infinitely expanding map.
  • Molek-Syntez
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Program a molecular synthesizer to convert chemicals into pharmacological substances.
  • while True: learn()
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 4
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    iPad
    iPhone
    Android
    Create a cat-to-human translation system with machine learning structures and visual programming.
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