SpaceChem

SpaceChem has the most marvelously difficult puzzles where you don't so much find a solution as build it. The difficulty rises steeply, and you may yourself stumped, only to wake up in the middle of the night thinking "Eureka! I've got it!" (true story.) And once the atoms and molecules are whizzing around, doing their perfectly orchestrated dance that you yourself choreographed, you feel a wonderful sense of ownership of the solution, since it is in a very real sense yours. No knowledge of chemistry required, though people with programming experience may have an edge.

Sheesh, where do I begin? This game is a logician's wet dream. Sure, it's an exercise in humility, but I feel I can safely say it's also the most compelling puzzle game I have played to date. There is no chaos whatsoever--only increasingly complex order and efficiency. If ever there were a game that captured the passion of engineering, this is it. The music is deeply inspired and provides a suitable background to your work. The story has some enrapturing quality as well, a smidge of suspense and intrigue enough to give you that extra nudge forward. This may sound insane, but reading the story between puzzles feels physically relieving, as though the stress on your mind is shifted to different regions, much like those atoms are shuffled so smoothly around the reactors, so orderly, clean and calm. Wait, did I say 'work'? I mean that in the kindest sense possible. You'll understand once y

Oh man, SpaceChem and I go way back... I first picked up this game in 2015. I enjoyed the first few puzzles, until I ran headfirst into a difficulty spike on the third world. Quickly tiring of my inability to make progress, I moved on to other things, but it always kept nagging me in the back of my mind. I knew it was within my abilities, and I even tried to pick it up a couple times in the months afterward, but I was never really able to sink my teeth into it. Five years and an engineering degree later, I decided to revisit my old nemesis. I restarted the game and quickly progressed to the same wall I had hit in the past... and to my surprise, managed to blast through it. And the level after that. And all the way through to the end of the game. And the weirdest thing is I don't really think I'm any better at it now than I was five years ago. I think the difference is perspective. Spac

What is SpaceChem? SpaceChem is a chemistry-themed programming puzzle game (no actual chemistry or programming knowledge required). Spacechem is moving stuff from one side of the screen to the other while rearranging it a bit. Spacechem isn't finding the unique solution, it's creating your unique solution. Spacechem is the elegance of a brilliantly simple solution. Spacechem is the elegance of a solution you know is a terrible wall of spaghetti, but it's your wall of spaghetti, dammit! Spacechem is accidentally late nights. Spacechem is a way to enjoyably fill the empty time in your day. Not just while actively playing, but a way to occupy your brain during those boring, spare minutes while trying to fall asleep, while doing mindless tasks, etc. Spacechem is finally deciding to go to sleep, only to jump out of bed as you were about to drift off, compelled by a sudden idea for how

This game consumed my life... literally... for a couple months. To put this game into simple terms, SpaceChem is basically a visual programming game. You receive various inputs and using various tools within the game, the goal is to generate a specified output. Loops, if/then statements, arrays, and many more tools are at your disposal. The game starts simply, but the difficulty increases quickly. Pretty soon, you will find a puzzle that completely stumps you. This game is not for the feint of heart, the puzzles are hard. But since the game operates within a well defined set of rules, you will find yourself thinking of solutions throughout the day. I found myself drawing sketches to solutions that I had brainstormed while at work. Then I'd eagerly wait until the day was over to get home, try out the idea, and refine any issues. Like I said, the game consumes your life. But when you find