I love physics engine puzzle games. You know the ones. You draw the contraptions, slap on some powered wheels, and try to reach the goal. For me, it really draws on the innate desire to solve problems in new and creative ways. They always remind me of the times I spent as a kid building dams for rainwater and seeing how high I could get the water to go before the dam gave way, or using K’Nex and model rocket engines to try and build a jet boat that would make it all the way across the lake.
Anyway, here’s a (small) list of all the games I could find online that provided this kind of entertainment:
Fantastic Contraption
This is one of my favorites. Get the pink ball/square to the big pink goal using power wheels, free wheels, and two different kinds of connecting rods. There are some amazing designs that people have come up with to beat the levels, everything from catapults to tanks and even using gravity alone to solve the problems. Incredibly easy to spend hours here. My only gripe is that there’s no “undo” button. Link.
Magic Pen
Somewhat similar to Fantastic Contraption but with a much different feel. In this one you have a “magic pen” that you use to draw ramps, circles, hinges, etc. to get the little red circle/square to the red flag but you don’t get to use any power. This one is purely gravity based. Link.
Coconut Run
This one comes courtesy of Johnson Controls. Your goal is to get all of the coconuts to the shredder as fast as you can using powered and free wheels as well as two kinds of connecting rods. I don’t fully understand how this game directly relates to the company’s message of sustainability through ingenuity but oh well.
Though it’s much less refined than the others it’s still fun. I wish they would add a retry button so that you don’t have to rebuild your whole contraption from scratch everytime. Then again, this company’s goal is not to build a great game but to attract attention to their message. Link.
If you know of any other games similar to these post them in the comments and I’ll be sure to add them to the list.