The Incredible Machine (1990): The Original Contraption Puzzle Game

Year: 1990 · Developer: Jeff Tunnell Productions · Publisher: Dynamix · Designer: Jeff Tunnell · Platform: DOS · Theme: Design Tool

The Incredible Machine took a simple, almost childlike premise, that tinkering with gadgets and toys is genuinely fun, and turned it into one of the more distinctive puzzle games the PC produced in 1990. Each level hands the player a fixed set of tools, pulleys, conveyor belts, bowling balls, whatever the puzzle calls for, and asks them to arrange those pieces into a chain reaction that satisfies a specific objective. There’s no combat, no score attack, no time pressure at the start. Just a small workspace and a goal.

That simplicity is deceptive. Jeff Tunnell’s design escalates difficulty quickly once the basics click, and later levels stop rewarding pure ingenuity on its own. Precise timing becomes just as important as figuring out which gadget goes where, since a contraption that’s conceptually correct can still fail if one component fires a beat too early or too late. It’s the kind of design that rewards patient experimentation over quick guessing, which is probably why it built a lasting following rather than a quick burst of attention followed by silence.

There isn’t much surviving detail about the game’s original production or reception beyond its reputation as a genuine classic of the format. What is clear is that the idea had enough staying power to justify real continuation: The Incredible Machine 3.0 followed as a direct sequel, extending the same contraption-building premise across a larger series. A design this specific rarely gets that kind of institutional follow-through unless the original genuinely worked.

The game shipped small even by 1990 DOS standards, distributed as a self-contained archive well under a megabyte, which fits a design built around a fixed workspace and a modest set of gadget sprites rather than sprawling levels or lavish presentation. A period solution guide accompanied the release, and Game Bytes, one of the PC gaming publications actively covering software of that era, gave it a review at the time. Both point to a game that found a real audience beyond casual browsing, rather than one that slipped by unnoticed.

How to run it today

The Incredible Machine’s DOS build runs cleanly in DOSBox on any modern system. It’s entirely mouse-driven, placing and connecting gadgets within each level’s workspace, so no joystick or special controller is needed.

Compatibility: DOS (via DOSBox) · Controls: Mouse · Setup difficulty: Low

Legal status

The Incredible Machine’s continuation into a numbered sequel shows the franchise had real official life beyond this original release, even setting aside anything that happened to the series later. That said, there’s no confirmed evidence that this specific 1990 build is currently sold through any official storefront. Dynamix itself stopped operating as an independent studio years ago, which leaves the sequel’s existence as the clearest sign of the IP’s staying power rather than proof of this particular game’s current availability.

If you liked this, try

Bridge Builder, a more narrowly focused physics-construction puzzle game built around a similar cause-and-effect spirit; SimAnt, Maxis’s own tinkering-and-systems game for players who like watching small mechanical or biological rules play out; and Coaster, Disney’s roller-coaster design tool for anyone drawn to The Incredible Machine’s build-it-and-watch-it-run appeal. The original period review also pointed toward Gearheads and Chip’s Challenge for players after more of the same puzzle-logic territory, both real contemporaries worth tracking down alongside the direct sequel.