# Exapunks by Zachtronics

12 Hacker News commenters recommended Exapunks by Zachtronics and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a programming puzzle game that feels like assembly work, with a strong soundtrack and a physical manual. Critics say constraints get hard too fast and some code reuse is lost.

## Why people recommend it

- Feels like assembly programming (2 comments): "these games made me realize that assembly isn't really that scary" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48767133)) "Exapunks was my first Zach-like and I loved it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48767774))
- Strong music and nerd-snipe puzzles (2 comments): "the music in all their games is top-notch" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48777451)) "Pure genius and nerd snipe marksmanship." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49173940))
- Favorite Zachtronics game (3 comments): "I enjoy a much larger fraction of Zachtronics' catalog." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48767799)) "They really perfected the formula in that one." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46709715)) "This is one of my all time favorite games." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48765874))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [EmuDevz](https://hackerapproved.com/p/emudevz.md): 18 recommend
- [TIS-100](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tis-100.md): 15 recommend
- [Elevator Saga](https://hackerapproved.com/p/elevator-saga.md): 14 recommend
- [Bitburner](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bitburner.md): 9 recommend
- [Human Resource Machine](https://hackerapproved.com/p/human-resource-machine.md): 6 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.zachtronics.com/exapunks/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Exapunks by Zachtronics", https://hackerapproved.com/p/exapunks/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).