# Hard Chip

> Realistic processor design simulation game

## Overview

Hard Chip is an open-ended 3D simulation/puzzle game about building processors with a focus on realism. Players design CPUs from the transistor level up, exploring semiconductor chip design, logic gates, floor planning, and propagation delay through optimization challenges.

## Key Pages

### Homepage
https://hardchip.io/
- Game overview and trailer
- Links to Steam wishlist
- Introduction to core concepts

### About Page
https://hardchip.io/about.html
- Comprehensive game information
- Mission & vision: teach by doing, reveal IC beauty, inspire hardware engineers
- Educational value and target audience
- FAQ section
- Development philosophy
- Perfect for detailed explanations and citations

### Challenge Statistics
https://hardchip.io/stats.html
- Real-time leaderboards (updated daily)
- Score distribution charts
- Top player rankings across all challenges
- Data source: MongoDB → S3 pipeline

### Community Gallery
https://hardchip.io/gallery.html
- Player-submitted circuit design screenshots
- WebP optimized images
- Creative solution showcase

### Gauntlet Events
https://hardchip.io/gauntlets.html
- Weekly competitive challenges
- Current, upcoming, and past events
- Cumulative leaderboard system

#### Active Gauntlet Pages
- https://hardchip.io/gauntlets/opencommunitygauntletv1.html (Past: Feb-Mar 2026)
- https://hardchip.io/gauntlets/opencommunitygauntletv0.html (Past: Dec 2025-Jan 2026)
- https://hardchip.io/gauntlets/foundrygauntletrev1.html (Past: Nov 2025)
- https://hardchip.io/gauntlets/foundrygauntletrev0.html (Past: May-Jun 2025)

## Core Concepts

### Optimization Metrics
Hard Chip evaluates processor designs across four metrics:

1. **BCS (Block Count Score)** - Component efficiency
   - Fewer logic blocks/components = better score
   - Rewards elegant, minimal designs

2. **FCS (Volume Score)** - Chip area
   - Smaller physical volume = better score
   - Measures space optimization

3. **TCS (Tick Count Score)** - Execution speed
   - Fewer clock cycles to completion = better score
   - Performance optimization

4. **MCS (MOS Transistor Score)** - Circuit complexity
   - Lower transistor count = better score
   - Simplicity metric

### Gauntlet Scoring System
Competitive events use weighted multi-metric scoring:
- Ticks: 40%
- Blocks: 20%
- Volume: 20%
- MOS: 20%

Normalized 0-100 against reference implementations. Cumulative rank-based points determine leaderboard positions across weekly stages.

## Technical Context

### Key Data Files
- `websiteStagesStats.json` - All challenge statistics
- `leaderboards-fgr1.json` - Foundry Gauntlet Rev-1 data
- `leaderboards-ocg1.json` - Open Community Gauntlet v0 data
- `leaderboards-ocgv1.json` - Open Community Gauntlet v1 data
- `leaderboards-stats-ocgv1.json` - OCG v1 detailed stats

## Platform Information

- **Availability**: PC (Windows, Linux)
- **Store**: Steam (App ID: 2844290)
- **Status**: Pre-release / Early Access
- **Website**: https://hardchip.io
- **Steam**: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2844290/Hard_Chip/

## Target Audience

- Computer engineering students
- Hardware enthusiasts
- Optimization puzzle solvers
- Competitive programmers interested in hardware design
- Anyone curious about how CPUs actually work
- Aspiring semiconductor / IC designers (of all ages)

## Terminology Guide

- **Stage/Challenge** - Individual optimization problem
- **Gauntlet** - Series of weekly competitive challenges
- **Sub Process (Ref Naïve)** - Reference implementation used as worst-case baseline
- **Process Prime (Ref Best)** - Reference implementation used as best-case baseline
- **Propagation delay** - Signal travel time through circuits (realistic physics)
- **Floor planning** - Physical layout optimization of chip components

## Community & Support

- Discord server for players and enthusiasts
- Weekly gauntlet events foster competitive community
- Solution gallery showcases creative approaches
- Real-time statistics enable performance tracking

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For detailed technical documentation, see llms-full.txt
Last updated: 2026-05-03