SpaceChem by Zachtronics
Shares rank 30 of 45 puzzle games by recommenders
People recommend SpaceChem for its demanding, satisfying puzzles and its unusual design, where instructions sit inside the work area and watching your solution run is rewarding.
People recommend SpaceChem for its demanding, satisfying puzzles and its unusual design, where instructions sit inside the work area and watching your solution run is rewarding.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 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
Lasting favorite for many players
“Spacechem is not only what made me start playing games again but playing with computers altogether after a rough couple of years, and will forever be one of my favourite gaming experiences.”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “Exapunks” “Still great, even after all these years”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “Exapunks” “My favorite game of all time.”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “Exapunks” Unusually cool concept
“The concept of instructions inside the actual work area is amazing and still makes my head spin.”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “Exapunks” “one of the coolest games I've ever played”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “How an Oil Refinery Works” Satisfying puzzle solving
“it was satisfying to figure out a solution and just watch it create the molecules”
Comment from 3 Jul 2026 in “Exapunks” “SpaceChem is the more demanding puzzle and the better game.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Solving Factorio Quality” Praised as a Zachtronics game
“All games by Zachtronics can be highly recommended to this crowd here”
Comment from 3 Jul 2026 in “Exapunks” “SpaceChem is the more demanding puzzle and the better game.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Solving Factorio Quality”
Other puzzle games people recommend
The four most recommended other puzzle 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outer Wilds | 65 | 7 | 90% | 9 | — | Approved |
| enclose.horse | 64 | 10 | 86% | 4 | — | Approved |
| The Witness | 60 | 19 | 76% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Braid | 36 | 5 | 88% | 5 | — | Approved |
| SpaceChem by ZachtronicsThis page | 8 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“SpaceChem is the more demanding puzzle and the better game.”
“All games by Zachtronics can be highly recommended to this crowd here”
“it was satisfying to figure out a solution and just watch it create the molecules”
“Spacechem is not only what made me start playing games again but playing with computers altogether after a rough couple of years, and will forever be one of my favourite gaming experiences.”
“My favorite game of all time.”
“Still great, even after all these years”
“The concept of instructions inside the actual work area is amazing and still makes my head spin.”
“one of the coolest games I've ever played”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.