Awesome Engineering Games

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

A curated GitHub list of “engineering games” has prompted a wave of suggestions spanning factory builders, vehicle and rocket simulators, programming and logic puzzles, and even theorem-proving and ML‑themed titles. Participants debate how narrowly to scope the list—e.g., Steam-only vs. including classic DOS, mobile, browser, and board games—and what truly counts as engineering, from base-building and automation to software-style coding challenges. There is broad interest in clearer categories (especially for coding/automation-focused games) and in using review thresholds while avoiding bloat so the list remains a practical discovery tool.

Scope and Criteria of the List

  • List currently focuses on engineering-heavy games, often involving automation, optimization, or systems design.
  • There’s debate about whether broader strategy/4X titles (e.g., Civilization, Stellaris) belong; many argue engineering isn’t central enough.
  • Some suggest explicitly documenting inclusion criteria at the top of the GitHub page (e.g., engineering as a core mechanic, not a side feature).

Platform & Age: Steam vs. Old/Web/Mobile

  • Present list is Steam-only, largely to leverage review scores (“Very Positive” as a filter) and keep scope manageable.
  • Multiple commenters request inclusion of:
    • DOS/retro games (Robot Odyssey, Rocky’s Boots, SimTower, The Incredible Machine, Detroit).
    • Browser/mobile/non-Steam titles (Robot Odyssey web port, Colobot, elevator programming games, Bitburner browser version).
  • Proposed compromise: keep the main list Steam-focused and create sibling lists for older and non-Steam games.

Factory, Automation, and Base-Building

  • Shapez, Techtonica, Hydroneer, Astroneer, From the Depths, Workers & Resources, and Tech-focused Minecraft modpacks are suggested as strong factory/base or systems games.
  • Factorio and Satisfactory are heavily discussed; some note Satisfactory is still clearly “early access” due to breaking changes. There’s a request to mark early-access status consistently.
  • Oxygen Not Included is praised for deep systems and explicit logic gates.

Programming / Logic / Theorem-Proving Games

  • Human Resource Machine, 7 Billion Humans, TIS-100, EXAPUNKS, Shenzhen I/O, SpaceChem, Bitburner, Screeps, Autonauts, While True: Learn(), Else Heart.Break(), elevator-scheduling games, and theorem-prover games (Incredible Proof Machine, Natural Number Game, nandgame) are highlighted.
  • Opinions differ:
    • Some see While True: Learn() as only ML-themed, not genuinely about ML.
    • Human Resource Machine is criticized as shallow for programmers and too spiky for non-programmers.
    • Detailed back-and-forth compares UX and depth between Incredible Proof Machine and Natural Number Game, including concerns about Lean’s “guess the verb” commands and missing intermediate-goal support.

Vehicle, Construction, and Physics Simulators

  • Suggested additions include RoboCo (with Python API), TerraTech, Wrench, various mechanic simulators, Automation+BeamNG, Transport Fever 2, Poly Bridge series, Rube Goldberg-style games (Contraption Maker), Garry’s Mod, and Hardspace: Shipbreaker (with some questioning its engineering depth).

Minecraft and Sandboxes

  • Strong advocacy for Minecraft (especially industrial/tech modpacks and ComputerCraft) as foundational to the factory genre and even an influence on Factorio.
  • Debate over whether base-building/survival sandboxes like Minecraft and RimWorld are “engineering” or just adjacent management games.

Adjacencies and “Brain-Hurter” Puzzles

  • Several puzzle titles (Baba Is You, Recursed, Stephen’s Sausage Roll, Patrick’s Parabox, Snakebird, first-person puzzle games like Antichamber) are proposed as engineering-adjacent due to heavy logical or recursive reasoning requirements, though not all fit cleanly into existing categories.