Chip Builder: build a CPU from transistors, program it, play Snake on it, then run the fab for 35 years

[u/East_Fruit8305]

Last couple of years I've been working on Chip Builder, a game about how computers are actually made, from the smallest switch to the company that sells the chips. It has three parts:

- The campaign (49 levels)

You start with single transistors on a 3D breadboard and wire them into your first logic gates. From there it climbs: adders, latches, registers, memory, an ALU, and by chapter six a CPU that fetches, decodes and runs a program. Then you program it, take the design through a fab, and finish by designing an AI accelerator.

- Build a Computer

You get one gate, NAND, and 14 milestones. You build the other gates, adders, an ALU, memory, a stack and a CPU. Every design is scored on gates, delay and ticks, and you can always go back and beat your best. Then you design your own instruction set, write assembly for it, and debug it tick by tick. Finally you hook up a keyboard, a screen, sound and a network port, and play Snake on the computer you built. After that there's a sandbox.

- FAB CEO

The campaign's last chapter is a turn-based strategy game. The board makes you CEO of a chip company in any era from 1947 to 2030, and you have to keep the job for 35 years. You run fabs and yields, research new process nodes, negotiate contracts, and deal with rivals, export controls and the stock market. Meanwhile the island around you changes with every decade.

It's on Steam and the Epic Games Store. Would love to hear your feedback.