Sudoku for the digital age. A community to come up with and solve together Zacktronics-like games that can be solved only with a pen and a piece of paper (Zachtronics-like games are engineering-oriented puzzle video games and programming games).
Design a physical track where a marble rolls and executes programming instructions. The marble carries a value and performs calculations as it hits different track pieces.
Puzzle
Calculate the factorial of 4 (4! = 4 × 3 × 2 × 1) and output the result 24.
Starting Conditions:
Marble begins carrying the value: 4
Expected output: 24
Available Track Pieces (Use Each Once):
2× CURVE - Changes marble direction 90°
1× STRAIGHT - Continues marble in same direction
1× LOOP-TRACK - Connects track to form a physical loop
1× BRANCH-ZERO - Marble goes LEFT if carrying 0, RIGHT otherwise
1× SUBTRACT-1 - Subtracts 1 from marble's value
1× MULTIPLY - Multiplies marble's value by memory slot A
1× STORE-A - Saves marble's current value to memory slot A
1× LOAD-A - Loads value from memory slot A into marble
PaperBugs is a puzzle where you control bugs on a grid by writing a simple program. Each bug executes the same program step-by-step to reach their targets. The key challenge is that ALL bugs run the SAME program simultaneously!
Puzzle:
Available instructions:
MOVE - move forward one cell
LEFT / RIGHT - rotate 90 degrees
IF FLOWER - execute next line only if flower ahead
IF EMPTY - execute next line only if path clear
IF WALL - execute next line only if wall ahead
IF GEM - execute next line only if gem ahead
Board:
Legend:
Flower (blocks movement)
Gem (collectable)
Wall (blocks movement)
Goal:
Write a single program that guides both bugs to collect gems and reach their targets safely.
PaperBugs is a puzzle where you control bugs on a grid by writing a simple program. Each bug executes the same program step-by-step to reach their targets. Heavy bugs have special abilities!
Available Instructions:
MOVE - move forward one cell
LEFT / RIGHT - rotate 90 degrees
IF FLOWER - execute next line only if flower ahead
IF EMPTY - execute next line only if path clear
IF ROCK - execute next line only if rock ahead
PUSH - push a rock forward (Heavy Bug only)
Puzzle:
Special Rule: Heavy Bug can push rocks with the PUSH command, but only into empty spaces.
Goal:
Push rocks to create a safe path and reach the target.
PaperBugs is a little puzzle where you control bugs on a grid by writing a simple program. Each bug executes the same program step-by-step to reach their targets.
Instructions:
MOVE - move forward one cell
LEFT / RIGHT - rotate 90 degrees
IF FLOWER - execute next line only if flower ahead (the next cell the bug is currently facing)