Thinky Games

The latest engineering games for Nintendo Switch

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 Nintendo Switch in the Thinky Games database.

  • Little Rocket Lab
    Windows
    Nintendo Switch
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    Mine resources and set up production lines to achieve an industrial dream in a cozy village.
  • World of Goo 2
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 5
    iPad
    iPhone
    Android
    Build more bridges, towers, and contraptions with new liquid physics mechanics.
  • Factorio
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    Build your factory empire from the simplest elements to the most convoluted infrastructures.
  • Autonauts
    Windows
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 4
    PlayStation 5
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    Automate a village colony by teaching robots with an accessible programming language.
  • 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.
  • 7 Billion Humans
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    iPad
    iPhone
    Android
    Apply parallel computing to a swarm of disposable office workers.
  • Human Resource Machine
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    iPad
    iPhone
    Android
    Program office workers to solve algorithmic puzzles.
  • World of Goo
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    iPad
    iPhone
    Android
    Construct towers, bridges, and other structures out of goo in this indie classic.

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