Exapunks by Zachtronics
Ranked 4 of 6 programming games by recommenders
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.
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.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 12
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 80%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not 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: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 12 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not 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
Feels like assembly programming
“these games made me realize that assembly isn't really that scary”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “Exapunks” “Exapunks was my first Zach-like and I loved it.”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “Exapunks” Strong music and nerd-snipe puzzles
“the music in all their games is top-notch”
Comment from 3 Jul 2026 in “Exapunks” “Pure genius and nerd snipe marksmanship.”
Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “Why some people mow a lawn better than others” Favorite Zachtronics game
“I enjoy a much larger fraction of Zachtronics' catalog.”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “Exapunks” “They really perfected the formula in that one.”
Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “EmuDevz: A game about developing emulators” “This is one of my all time favorite games.”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “Exapunks”
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 Saga | 14 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Exapunks by ZachtronicsThis page | 12 | 3 | 80% | 3 | — | — |
| Bitburner | 9 | 2 | 82% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
14 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Pure genius and nerd snipe marksmanship.”
“not everyone is delusional enough to enjoy spreadsheets”
“the music in all their games is top-notch”
“For me they get too hard (due to constraints) too fast (if not straight up obscure).”
“It took me to my happy place.”
“I enjoy a much larger fraction of Zachtronics' catalog.”
“Exapunks was my first Zach-like and I loved it.”
“these games made me realize that assembly isn't really that scary”
“Printing the physical zines in exapunks as a reference was very cool, and a good throwback to when games shipped with boxes and detailed manuals.”
“All the joys of code reuse (as silly as that might sound) do get kinda lost in the game.”
“contrasted to the flickering playgrounds of Exapunks or Shenzhen IO”
“the language didn't gel with me”
“This is one of my all time favorite games.”
“They really perfected the formula in that one.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.