The-Powder-Toy/The-Powder-Toy
Written in C++ and using SDL, The Powder Toy is a desktop version of the classic 'falling sand' physics sandbox, it simulates air pressure and velocity as well as heat. observed · 2026-08-28
Health v2 · maintenance only
94/100
- Activity 98
- Release rhythm 84
- Longevity 100
How is this computed?
round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10) — computed 2026-09-03. Adoption (stars, forks) is never an input.
- gap_med: 31
- age_days: 5883
- days_rel: 25
- days_push: 12
- n_releases_24m: 8
Adoption not part of the score
5281 stars · 895 forks observed · 2026-08-28
What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-29, confidence not recorded
The Powder Toy is a free, open-source falling-sand physics sandbox game written in C++ with SDL, simulating air pressure, velocity, heat, and gravity across many interacting substances. It includes a Lua API for automation and plugins, plus community save sharing.
Use cases
- play a falling sand physics sandbox game
- simulate explosions, heat, and pressure interactions
- build virtual machines and circuits with electronic components
- script game automation or plugins with Lua
- download and share community-created saves
- learn physics through interactive simulation
When to choose
- you want a free, actively maintained physics sandbox with a large community
- you need a Lua API to extend or automate the simulation
- you want cross-platform desktop physics simulation with heat and pressure modeling
When to avoid
- you need realistic 3D physics or high-fidelity engineering simulation
- you want a mobile or web-based sandbox
- you need a general-purpose physics engine to embed in your own project
Facets
application · maturity active
simulation game-engine graphics plugin-system simulation entertainment education windows cpp cross-platform falling-sand physics-sandbox cellular-automata sdl lua-scripting open-source-game game-development physics macos linux
2 sources
- readme: https://github.com/The-Powder-Toy/The-Powder-Toy · fetched 2026-08-28 · f3a178b085cb
- homepage: http://powdertoy.co.uk · fetched 2026-08-29 · 788b54f81df1
Member repositories
| Repository | Role | Health v2 |
|---|---|---|
| The-Powder-Toy/The-Powder-Toy | main | 94 |
For agents
markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="The-Powder-Toy/The-Powder-Toy")
Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00 · Report a problem