When I had an Amstrad 6128 I remember playing a game "Purple Saturn Day". One of the challenges it had, was a puzzle game on some kind of circuit board (see photo 1).

I'd like to know if there are any puzzle or strategy games available, where you have to complete a circuit board or transfer power, or anything...

Can anyone recommend such a game?


http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/wosfiles/ingame/PurpleSaturnDay.gif

http://www.servicepartsportal.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/circuit-board.jpg

Well, if you like KiCAD is a free printed circuit layout program. DIPTRACE and EAGLE have some free versions.

It is quite a challenge to lay out printed circuits having done them manually.

They have "design rule" checkers built in, so you can tell if the schematic matches the "as built" board.

KiCAD also incorporated 3D. Layers typically range from 1-4 although there could be 20 or more.

So, as a "game" you can find various schematics and try to route them. Not sure about scoreing though.
# holes, layers, size etc. In esscence, cost.

There are a couple of online PCB houses that provide a proprietary program for use with their process. That program is free.

Very interesting but KiCAD is a program for designing circuit boards, not a game.

True. I did say that.

I also said you can create a game and INVENT a way to score. It is a great puzzle.

There's a fine line between work and a game. For instance, I think algebra is just a bunch of puzzles, like the kinds of puzzles I did for fun as a kid. So I'd think doing your algebra homework would be just like working a bunch of puzzles.

My brother coincidentally designs circuit boards, and I've seen him design just silly little things that move or fill themselves in or whatever, and post them places - he's just messing around so it's almost like a game to him. I remember him doing this weirdo optical illusion thing once.

PS. I'm not saying you should enjoy playing with the design software. Just making a point that sometimes people do find fun in those sorts of things and KISS was simply making a suggestion - no way to know if that'll work for you or not.