A downloadable game for Windows

Hard Chip is a 3D simulation/puzzle game about building an 8-bit processor focusing on realism. Explore the world of semiconductor chip design and delve into the intricacies of CPU logic while figuring out what happened to your ship.

All latest updates are now on Steam only:

All Links: Steam Discord Reddit


Easy to learn

Start easy with bite-sized brain-teasing puzzles that will guide you with schematics for implementation. Learn how to channel states through wires and transistors, deal with propagation delay, manage your space, and create your own set of small and reusable building blocks.

Design circuits that fulfill fundamental functions like inverters, basic logic gates, and memory cells.




Validate and optimize

With its zach-Like graphs, stats reports and constant validations, verify your circuit's logic and performance. Remove unnecessary long traces, and reduce your transistor count. Optimize your layout to have a minimal footprint. Having high-quality building blocks will be crucial.




A thing of beauty

While small solutions can be elegant and intelligent. Knowing that is close to what a processor would have been in real life, to the transistor, looking at a large solution is something else. Something about the immensity of complete and efficient processor design.




Hard to master

Combinatorial explosion happens fast when dealing with transistors at scale. Some laws of physics can get in the way.  Achieving a working, capable, efficient, compact, and readable design requires method and planning. Cross this threshold where the circuit seems incredibly complex visually but is crystal clear to your mind. No limit!


Download now and design your very own processor!

Imagine a game where you play with semiconductor designs as if they were puzzle pieces. It's not just about connecting the dots; it's about creating and testing CPU as they would function in real life. Hard Chip offers a unique blend of entertainment and education, allowing you to learn about the intricacies of semiconductor technology in a fun, risk-free environment.


StatusPrototype
PlatformsWindows
Rating
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
(2 total ratings)
AuthorElorth
GenrePuzzle, Educational, Simulation
Made withMonoGame
Tags3D, circuit, Difficult, electronics, engineering, logic, zacklike
Average sessionAbout a half-hour
LanguagesEnglish
InputsKeyboard, Mouse
LinksSteam

Download

Download
HardChip_win64_v0.0.4.8-legacy.zip 185 MB

Install instructions

*You NEED Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable packages for Visual Studio 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022 installed first.

**Linux users, you might be able to run the game with Wine.

  1. Unzip into a folder
  2. Locate and launch HardChip.exe


Development log

View all posts