This is a list of TEN (plus one) games that are "accidentally" TURING COMPLETE. 
In a nutshell, when a game is Turing Complete you can use it to build a WORKING COMPUTER.
If you are a parent: please don't underestimate games as a creative medium.
Let's start with...


In a nutshell, when a game is Turing Complete you can use it to build a WORKING COMPUTER.

If you are a parent: please don't underestimate games as a creative medium.
Let's start with...




Unsurprisingly, @Minecraft is indeed Turing Complete.

This is possible thanks to the so-called REDSTONE CIRCUITS, which allow to build simple logic gates.

And if you are really, REALLY committed ...you can even build a computer!



Yes. Everybody's favourite game is Turing Complete!

@anklejbiter used Portal 2 level editor to create a 3-Digit Binary Calculator. De-facto proving it can be used for arbitrary computation. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1788462873

Building a computer is not the only way to prove that something is Turing Complete.
GoL is a game driven by simple rules, proven to be TC. Creating GoL in any system proves that the system itself is TC.


It might not be immediately obvious that @babaisyou_ is Turing Complete.
However, there are a lot of user creations that clearly prove that. Such as @TheDevinDanko's real-time Conway's Game of Life simulator.


Cadence is a beautiful rhythm game with an open sandbox mode. As it turns out, some of its puzzle elements can be used to build logic gates.
I've recently streamed with @thefuntastic how to build a simple counter in Cadence.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/362800/Cadence/


@balidani exploited the way in which power generation and sewage pipes work in @CitiesSkylines to create a poop-powered computer.

Below, a 4-bit adder which takes 15 in-game months to run (about 20 minutes in real-time).


Most @zachtronics' games (TIS-100, Shenzhen I/O, Opus Magnum, ...) are TC. Unsurprisingly, Infinifactory is not an exception.
Inspired by an earlier video posted by @notch, I made a programmable cellular automata simulator.


The "Dwarven Computer" by Jong89 is the first programmable digital computer ever built in DF, consisting of 672 pumps, 2000 logs & 8500 mechanism.
https://mkv25.net/dfma/map-8269
@BaronWable even made a fully-functioning Space Invaders.


Yes, *THAT* Minesweeper we all played on Windows.
As it turns out, Minesweeper is NP-Complete, while its infinite variant is Turing Complete.
Richard Kaye wrote extensively about this.
Below, a XOR, AND and OR gates.
http://web.mat.bham.ac.uk/R.W.Kaye/minesw/infmsw.pdf


As a pretty open-ended game, many have created all sort of computational contraptions in @factoriogame.
@ArrowGMaximus built some of the most amazing machines, including Facto-RayO (a raycasting engine) and even a demake of Pacman!



And I couldn't end this list without the most surprising and unexpected Turing Complete games of all: @wizards_magic!
@alextfish, @BlancheMinerva & @Stroodle76 wrote about this in a recent paper.
https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.09828


Did you know that @powerpoint is Turing Complete?

@standupmaths & @MouldS made a very nice video about this. And for a more formal, comprehensive discussion, check out Tom Wildenhain's videos on YouTube.



I write about Game Development, Shader Coding & Artificial Intelligence.
If you are interested in any of those topics, feel free to check my work on @Patreon and follow me!
