The Incredible Machine
The Incredible Machine is a 1993 puzzle game developed by Dynamix and published by Sierra. Players solve open-ended puzzles by assembling elaborate Rube Goldberg-style contraptions from a toolbox of parts such as ropes, pulleys, gears, conveyor belts, balloons, cats, and mice to accomplish a deceptively simple goal like guiding a ball into a basket.
Its physics-based, creative sandbox approach rewarded experimentation and ingenuity, often allowing multiple valid solutions to the same puzzle, which made it a beloved and quietly educational classic that appealed to players of all ages. Consistent simulated gravity, air pressure, and momentum meant contraptions behaved predictably, so the joy of watching a chaotic chain reaction finally succeed gave each solution a satisfying payoff, and a freeform mode let players build their own.
The Incredible Machine spawned several sequels and inspired a whole lineage of physics-puzzle and contraption-building games, and its clever, playful design remains influential in the genre today.
Play it today
Modern alternatives to The Incredible Machine, with the devices they run on and their price. Ordered editorially by how well each one stands in for the original, with community votes weighted in as they accumulate.
Prices, platform availability and Steam Deck compatibility can change at any time. Always check the store page before buying.
Poly Bridge 2 Indie
€ 14,99A playful indie physics-puzzle sandbox of building contraptions.
Poly Bridge 2 runs on PC, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, Switch. Not available on PlayStation, Xbox. It is Steam Deck Playable.
Bad Piggies
Free + in-app purchasesRovio's contraption builder: bolt together carts, fans and rockets and hope physics is on your side.
Bad Piggies runs on iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet. Not available on PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, Steam Deck.
Opus Magnum Indie
€ 19,50Build alchemical machines from arms, tracks and grabbers, then optimise them for cost and cycles.
Opus Magnum runs on PC, Mac, Linux. Not available on iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch. It is Steam Deck Playable.
Contraption Maker
€ 19,99A modern successor by the original creators.
Contraption Maker runs on PC, Mac. Not available on Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch. It is Steam Deck Playable.
Crazy Machines 3
€ 19,99A physics-contraption puzzler in the same tradition.
Crazy Machines 3 runs on PC. Not available on Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch. It is Steam Deck Unsupported.
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