KOHCTPYKTOP alternative: design logic from transistors, in a modern browser
KOHCTPYKTOP: Engineer of the People is a free browser game by Zachtronics, the studio behind SHENZHEN I/O and TIS-100. You play an engineer in a semiconductor factory, designing integrated circuits to the specifications you are given. Its page says you do not need to know electronics to play, but that the game is quite difficult and its later levels are based on real-life circuits. It was made in Flash: the game page embeds a Flash file with only an Adobe "Get Flash player" fallback, so a current browser shows the game only with a Flash emulator such as the Ruffle extension, and the page notes that the in-game tutorial video no longer works in most browsers (it links a YouTube copy instead). KOHCTPYKTOP drops you into chip design as a puzzle; digiwleea walks you from one transistor to a working CPU, step by step.
What KOHCTPYKTOP is good at
A hard, satisfying puzzle about how chips are really made: each level is a specification to meet, the later ones modeled on real circuits, with a tongue-in-cheek communist theme. If you liked SHENZHEN I/O or TIS-100 and can run Flash content, it is a classic worth the effort. (digiwleea is an independent project, not affiliated with Zachtronics.)
How digiwleea is different
digiwleea also starts at the transistor, but as a course rather than a puzzle, and it runs in any modern browser with nothing to install. You wire NMOS and PMOS transistors as switches into a CMOS inverter and a CMOS NAND, then reuse those parts for the other gates, adders, latches, registers, RAM and an 8-bit CPU that runs a stored program, through a 40+ level course where every part is checked against its truth table, with hints and an AI tutor (Wleea) when you are stuck. It works at the switch level, every wire 0, 1 or floating, rather than with doped silicon layers, so it teaches the logic of the transistor more than the physics of the chip.
| KOHCTPYKTOP | digiwleea | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | A puzzle game with levels to solve | A guided course plus a free lab |
| Starts from | Chip design in a semiconductor factory | NMOS and PMOS transistors as switches |
| Runs on | Flash, so a Flash emulator in today's browsers | Any modern browser, nothing to install |
| Help when stuck | A tutorial video (on YouTube) | Hints, checks and an AI tutor |
| Price | Free | Free lab and Act I; Premium for the full course |
No sign-up is needed to start: open the lab and place your first transistor, or read the free theory course. The account (and the AI tutor) are optional.
More comparisons: Games about logic and computers
See for yourself: build a logic gate from transistors in the simulator, then follow the path from sand to an 8-bit CPU.
Open the digiwleea lab →Frequently asked
Can you still play KOHCTPYKTOP?
Its page on zachtronics.com still hosts the game, but it is a Flash file, which current browsers no longer run on their own. A Flash emulator such as the Ruffle browser extension is needed.
Who made KOHCTPYKTOP?
Zachtronics, the studio that also made SpaceChem, TIS-100, SHENZHEN I/O and EXAPUNKS.
Is there a game like KOHCTPYKTOP that runs in a modern browser?
For building logic from transistors up, digiwleea runs in any current browser: you wire transistors into gates, then adders, memory and a CPU, with every part checked.