Chipwits Review
The classic automation game ChipWits has been reimagined for 2025.
ChipWits. ChipWits, Inc.
ChipWits is a coding automation game released by developers Mike Johnston and Doug Sharp in 1984 as one of the first games on MacOS, and was later ported to Apple II and Commodore 64. ChipWits sparked interest in coding among its players and was the precursor for automation games like those from Zachtronics. Now, Sharp and a small team have reimagined the game for a new generation curious about programming.
ChipWits. ChipWits, Inc.
In the game, players program a robot to solve puzzles using the game’s own Icon-Based Object-Oriented Language (IBOL). In IBOL, chips with icons on them represent each instruction. Players place the chips on a grid and connect them to run sequentially, using conditional statements for logic and creating loops. Once your program solves the puzzle, you move on to the next one. Solutions are open-ended, like in Neon Noodles, simply graded by metrics such as number of chips, number of steps, etc., and it’s up to you if you wish to optimize your program.
The new ChipWits does a great job teaching players about its systems and the logic behind programming, enabling them to solve its puzzles. The graphics, writing, and general presentation are geared toward younger players, unlike most other modern automation games, and together with its gentle instruction make for a great educational experience. Once you master the core concepts, there’s a lot of room to challenge yourself as the puzzles get harder.
When comparing ChipWits with other new games in the genre, it becomes clear that its UI needs work. It feels dated and unintuitive, turning what should be a fun, challenging puzzle game into a grueling experience. I found myself frustrated by its radial menu system, where you dig down multiple menu levels to place a single chip; for example, you click on a space, then pick movement from a menu, which then goes to a submenu to choose a direction. Changing the direction of a chip’s connection to the next works the same way, making you select from a menu. I kept wanting just to drag the connection and have it snap to another chip, but the functionality isn’t there. You can drag chips to new spaces on the grid, but you can’t select more than one chip at a time, so refactoring your code becomes an exercise in teeth-grinding tedium. Moving a chip over another doesn’t move it over to allow for an insert; it just overwrites the chip. At least the game has an undo function.
ChipWits. ChipWits, Inc.
The graphics are kid-friendly, but they’re also underwhelming. The game goes for a soft look with solid colored, shaded textures, and doesn’t pull it off—it just looks plain. Comparing its art to Star Stuff, another recent automation game with similar stylistic goals in its 3D art, made me realise how painfully lacking ChipWits is visually. Aside from the chip icons being somewhat ugly, the 2D portion of the UI also lacks the juice that would make it feel satisfying to manipulate.
The original ChipWits was a pioneer, a genre-defining game that enchanted its players. This reimagining remains faithful to its inspiration, but doesn’t do enough to bring the game to the modern era, putting it behind others in the genre that are more polished and simply more fun to tinker with. This isn’t a problem with the core of ChipWits—that part is brilliant. It’s an issue of UI design and interaction, presentation, and polish.
ChipWits is available now on Steam.
Overall Score: 5/10
Played on: Steam Deck and Mac
