Crayon Computer (2024)

Developer: Artless Games
Platforms: Windows, macOS
Genres: Simulation
Rating: 3.5 of 5, 31 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 3.5 hours
Where to get it: Steam

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More games like this

How it feels

You fiddle with a wonky, hand-drawn system where drawing shapes becomes programming, exploring what counts as computing in a playful, low-stakes way.

causalpuzzleexperimentaleducationalopen-endedphysics-basedcreative

What players say

Players are split on whether its non-deterministic physics is a flaw or a minor annoyance, with many saying creativity is rewarded but optimization feels like gambling. The lack of an eraser tool and pixel-level controls frustrates builders, and the leaderboard encourages cheesy single-point solutions over clever designs.

Screenshots

More games like this

More by Artless Games

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.