- UPDATE: Fix for mouse alignment bug on Mac - 4 October 2022
Today's update fixes an issue where the mouse would sometimes be misaligned on Macbooks.
- Turbo Golf Racing and Shenzhen I/O are now on Game Pass - 4 August 2022
Two more games hit Game Pass today, one oldie-but-goodie and one newie. The oldie is Shenzhen I/O , an excellent Zachtronics puzzle game from 2016 where you design circuits and program hardware. The newie is Turbo Golf Racing , which looks like Rocket League for minigolf and is hitting Game Pass on the very day it launches. Shenzhen is absolutely worth a go if you enjoy Zachlike puzzlers, and Turbo Golf looks like one of those "could be fun, sure I'll give it a try" Game Pass games. Read more
- Last Call BBS - The last game by Zachtronics! - 5 July 2022
Boot up your Z5 Powerlance and dial into Last Call BBS, the last game from Zachtronics! The Barkeep’s loaded up his retro computer with a full set of puzzle games for you to download and play. No need to worry about copy protection, they’re all fully cracked and ready to enjoy! Includes eight full games: 20th Century Food Court: Design factories to produce food just like they did over 700 years ago in the 20th century. Keep your costs low and your machines running fast! STEED FORCE Hobby Studio: Assemble robot models based on the anime smash hit Steed Force right on your computer. No sandpaper required! X’BPGH: The Forbidden Path: Enter a cursed world and create bizarre flesh sculptures in exchange for eternal life. The master is pleased… but can you trust him? Sawayama Solitaire: It wouldn’t be a Zachtronics release without a brand-new solitaire game. This time it’s a fresh take on Klo…
- UPDATE: Fixing an issue with M1 Macs - 3 January 2021
Today's update fixes an issue where the game would fail to start on Macs with the new M1 processor.
- UPDATE: Fixing the crash handler and histograms - 14 November 2020
Today's update fixes the crash handler and histograms. Nothing else should be affected.
- UPDATE: Minor translation items - 15 October 2020
Today's update adds a few missing Chinese strings and support for Korean characters.
- Daily Deal - SHENZHEN I/O, 67% Off - 17 July 2019
Today's Deal: Save 67% on SHENZHEN I/O & SHENZHEN SOLITAIRE !* Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are! *Offer ends Friday at 10AM Pacific Time
- Zachtronics games now free for schools - 4 July 2019
Cor, kids have it easy nowadays. Sure, they’re inheriting a polluted hellhole teetering on the brink of ecological and economic ruin, but look at all the neat games they get to grow up with. Thanks to Zachtronics announcing they’re giving away (nearly) all their games to schools, some of them even get to muck about with fabulously inventive puzzle boxes during their pretend workday. Imagine that! Privileged tykes. (more…)
- Zach-Like comes to Steam free with loads of game-like extras - 18 June 2019
Zach-like , the book about Zachlikes by Zach Barth , creator of the genre, is now free albeit notably less papery now. Zachtronics’s previously Kickstarter-exclusive book was a collection of design documents from the creator of Spacechem , Opus Magnum , Infinifactory and many more, showing just how he engineers his puzzles. Now anyone can read a digital version for free, and it comes bundled with a pile of his early browser games, unreleased prototypes, and even a card game if you’ve got printer ink to burn. Grab it free on Steam . I feel smarter just having it on my PC. (more…)
- Zachtronics book Zach-Like shows how the puzzle sausage gets made - 7 February 2019
I reckon most of the RPS Treehouse gang love us some Zachlikes, since well before Alice Prime coined the term in 2016 in reference to Shenzhen I/O . Puzzlemeister Zach Barth likes the term too, as he’s borrowed it for the title of his book. Currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter (500% funded in one day), Zach-Like shows the workings and the processes behind his practical puzzlers. There’s design docs for his major games, sketches and documents for some that never got made and some early design exercises. There’s even some pen-and-paper brainteasers in there, because we’re gluttons for punishment. (more…)
- UPDATE: Fix for keyboard input bug - 2 January 2019
Today's update fixes a bug where the game would sometimes fail to detect keyboard input when typing code quickly while the game was running at a low framerate.
- Purchase a printed copy of the SHENZHEN I/O manual! - 4 December 2018
It's probably years too late, but we've uploaded the SHENZHEN I/O manual to Lulu so that you can order a professionally printed and bound copy (no binder, though). The quality is pretty good, and at $4.99 plus shipping it's not a bad deal! http://www.lulu.com/shop/zachtronics/shenzhen-io-manual/paperback/product-23899820.html
- The 10 best hacking, coding and computing games - 26 November 2018
We’ve been hacked! As well as a fake festival of online retail excess, Cyber Monday is now a celebration of hacker games and everything ‘cyber’. This is the hAcKeR collective {{Synonymous Bosch}}. We have taken control of this aRt1cLe. Three years ago it was written by the untalented and scurrilous journalist Brendan Caldwell, a man lacking in both knowledge and substance. But we have gained access in order to correct his egregious errors. It s a hack of a hack! Ha ha ha. We had our best joke cell work on that for three nights. Please laugh. Our detractors may say Mr Caldwell got it mostly right, and that may be the case, yes. But the order is aLL Wr0nG. And he has neglected to update it with a recent hit. We cannot let this stand. Here is an updated list which, actually, looking at it now, is still mostly Mr Caldwell s words and I guess they re okay. Sorry we said tho…
- UPDATE: Improved error messages - 29 October 2018
Today's update improves some error messages for when the game crashes.
- Daily Deal - SHENZHEN I/O, 67% Off - 26 September 2018
Today's Deal: Save 67% on SHENZHEN I/O !* Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are! *Offer ends Friday at 10AM Pacific Time
- How Exapunks represents hacking without limits - 12 September 2018
This is The Mechanic , where Alex Wiltshire invites developers to discuss the difficult journeys they ve taken to make their games. This time, Exapunks . It s pretty obvious that the excellent Exapunks is a game about hacking. Specifically, it s a game about programming viruses and sending them into networked systems to monkey around with data, set in a great alternative 90s Wired cyberworld of PC cases flashed with black and red decals and zines set in Apple Garamond. For its makers, though, Exapunks is a game about limitations. Its format is the result of hard decisions about how much space you get to write your code in, how much freedom you get to solve its puzzles, and how it s presented on your screen. And even now, creative director Zach Barth isn t totally sure he and his team got it right. (more…)
- UPDATE: Histogram fix for high-intensity Workshop players - 5 March 2018
Today's update fixes a bug that caused histograms to not load for players who were subscribed to a large number of Workshop puzzles.
- UPDATE: Histogram fix for high-intensity Workshop players - 5 March 2018
Today's update fixes a bug that caused histograms to not load for players who were subscribed to a large number of Workshop puzzles.
- UPDATE: More localization tweaks - 30 January 2018
Today's update includes more small tweaks to Chinese text. If you see further updates without explanation they'll be for the same reason.
- UPDATE: More localization tweaks - 30 January 2018
Today's update includes more small tweaks to Chinese text. If you see further updates without explanation they'll be for the same reason.
