Re:LLMs Play Zachtronics' TIS-100
by rpdillon on Tuesday November 10, 2026 @09:40PM
(#50449170)
TIS-100 was a mind-expanding game for me. I kind of wish I'd finished it (I think I made it ~20 or so in). It always felt like the sort of game that should be ported to the web or to a TUI, even if just as a sandbox (not bringing over the specific puzzles). Should probably revisit it!
What I would always dream about was actual tis-100 like hardware, each module a small cheap microcontroller with 4 uarts(does that exist?) and a self interlocking module design so it is not constrained by base chassis. And because I am insane, in-band programming, that is, each module needs to and can only be programmed by it's neighbors. It would be such a nightmare to actually make anything.
Heh, That would make for an interesting sequel. You thought tis-100 was obtuse and hard, now you have to design autonomous self duplicating code, it's the tis-400 virus processor.
What I would always dream about was actual tis-100 like hardware, each module a small cheap microcontroller with 4 uarts(does that exist?) and a self interlocking module design so it is not constrained by base chassis. And because I am insane, in-band programming, that is, each module needs to and can only be programmed by it's neighbors. It would be such a nightmare to actually make anything.
Heh, That would make for an interesting sequel. You thought tis-100 was obtuse and hard, now you have to design autonomous self duplicating code, it's the tis-400 virus processor.