Elevator Saga
Hacker ApprovedRanked 3 of 6 programming games by recommenders
A simple premise with satisfyingly difficult levels, recommended as a fun programming challenge and a humbling test of solutions.
A simple premise with satisfyingly difficult levels, recommended as a fun programming challenge and a humbling test of solutions.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 14
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 14 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Hard to stop playing
“I always come back to this game whenever I'm at a hotel for a conference waiting for the elevator.”
Comment from 31 Jul 2026 in “Elevators” “Which, once you start playing, can be very difficult to detox from.”
Comment from 1 Oct 2026 in “Red Hat being phased out of existence?” “Enjoy this rabbit hole :D”
Comment from 31 Jul 2026 in “Elevators” Simple premise, satisfyingly difficult levels
“It's such a simple premise but so satisfyingly difficult after each level.”
Comment from 31 Jul 2026 in “Elevators” “I thought it was fun to search for a solution that can beat every level”
Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “Elevator Saga: The elevator programming game (2015)” “Quite a humbling experience.”
Comment from 5 Mar 2026 in “Elevator Saga: The elevator programming game (2015)” Good for programming practice
“Elevator Saga is great for the programming side”
Comment from 31 Jul 2026 in “Elevators” “This is a really great test for vibe coding.”
Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “Elevator Saga: The elevator programming game (2015)”
Other programming games people recommend
The four most recommended other programming games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EmuDevz | 18 | 1 | 95% | 1 | — | — |
| TIS-100 | 15 | 1 | 94% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Elevator SagaThis page | 14 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Exapunks by Zachtronics | 12 | 3 | 80% | 3 | — | — |
| Bitburner | 9 | 2 | 82% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Which, once you start playing, can be very difficult to detox from.”
“It's such a simple premise but so satisfyingly difficult after each level.”
“Elevator Saga is great for the programming side”
“I always come back to this game whenever I'm at a hotel for a conference waiting for the elevator.”
“Enjoy this rabbit hole :D”
“Quite a humbling experience.”
“have yet to come up with any ideas as perfect as this one”
“I thought it was fun to search for a solution that can beat every level”
“This is a really great test for vibe coding.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.