Click your robot (the white ball) to look inside it. Once inside, you can build a circuit using the Soldering Iron on the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. As you progress, you'll unlock new components that will help you solve bigger problems. Click and drag the Soldering Iron between pins to connect them. Output pins (straight) can only be connected to input pins (Y-shaped).
There are components around the edges of the screen when inside the robot. These are built-in parts, and you'll connect these to your circuit in order to control the robot. There are four thrusters that move the robot in different directions. There are also four bumpers which detect walls (on contact) in each direction.
Once you have a circuit you like, test it by pressing the Power switch in the lower right. You'll see the robot moving, and you can watch your circuit respond to the environment. For a different view, you can also close the circuit before hitting the power switch. Once you turn off the power, the robot will reset to the starting position so you can try again.
In the first few levels, tutorial arrows will guide you along.
Most things have tooltips- trying hovering your pointer over things if you're not sure what they are.
You can move components by left-dragging, and rotate them by right-clicking on them (or
control-clicking for one-button mice).
Most keyboard shortcuts are either underlined (in the case of buttons), or show up in the tooltip for that item. Here's a basic list to get you started:
If you can't get past a level, there are many ways to hack the game and allow you to "cheat"
(which is another way to say, "finding fun in the game any way you like"). Feel free to experiment,
but you should back up the entire game folder before you start, in case something gets damaged
irreparably.
Windows Version
Macintosh Version
AND Gate : The output of this gate will turn on if both the input pins are on. Use this if you need to know when two things happen at the same time. You can chain these together to check three, four, or more conditions all at once.
OR Gate : The output of this gate will turn on if either one of the input pins are on. Use this if you need to turn something on from multiple sources. Chain these together for as many sources as you need.
NOT Gate: The output of this gate will always be the opposite of the input. Use this to invert a condition, or to simply provide constant power to an input.
XOR Gate: The output of this gate will be on if either input is on, but not when both or neither are on. Use this in more complex circuits like adders.
TAP : This allows one output to control multiple inputs.
FLIP FLOP : This allows a circuit to remember state. Once an input is set, the matching output will be set, and remain so, even after the power to that input is turned off. This is a very powerful component indeed, and virtually all higher-level circuits will use it.
CLOCK: This is a timer with 3 outputs. When the input is powered, the clock will tick, enabling each
output in sequence. Using one or more of the different outputs, you can create time delays of varying
amounts. This is another very powerful component, and nearly any problem can be solved with clever
application of it.