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A user-created sandbox in the video game *The Powder Toy*

A falling-sand game is a genre of video game and a sub-genre of sandbox games which typically utilize a two-dimensional particle or cellular automaton based game engine to simulate various materials interacting in a sandbox environment.

In falling-sand games, the user can interact with (e.g. place and remove) particles on a canvas which can interact with other particles in various ways, which can lead to complex emergent behaviour.^[1] As sandbox games, they generally have an emphasis on free-form gameplay, relaxed rules, and minimal goals.^[2]

Despite the name, falling-sand games typically contain a multitude of materials besides sand, often called "elements".^{[citation needed]}

History

The first known popular example in the "falling-sand" genre was a web-based Java applet on the Japanese Dofi-Blog in 2005^[3]^[4] which was later expanded and rehosted as the "Falling sand game",^[4] which kick-started the genre as a trend and gave it its name.^[5]^[6]

The genre is not limited to free play canvas-style games; games such as the Powder Game contain additional mechanics, such as pressure based fluid simulation^{[citation needed]} allowing for example water equalisation, and RPG elements such as controllable characters.

Noita blends the traditional sandbox physics with Roguelike RPG mechanics, with sophisticated playable characters and enemies.^[7]^[8]^[9]

List of falling-sand games

Title	Year	Platform	Details
Down fall	1993	Atari ST	2 player falling snow^[10]
Falling sand game	2005	Java	Also called "Hell of Sand" or "World of sand"^[3]^[4]^[6]^[11]
wxSand	2006	Windows	The first standalone version^[12]
Powder Game	2007	Java, HTML5, Android, iOS	Multi-platform with liquid simulation^[13]
This is Sand	2008	Flash	Added changing the colour of the sand^[14]
The Powder Toy	2010	Windows, Linux, OS X, Android	Has liquid simulation and Newtonian gravity^[15]^[13]
The Sandbox	2012	Flash, Windows, Android, iOS	A series of games, including some 3D versions^[16]^[17]
sand:box	2015	Android, iOS, Linux, Windows	Falling sand game with advanced digital circuit simulation.^[18]^[19]^[20]
Sandspiel	2019	HTML5	Popular web-based version^[21]
Noita	2020	Windows	A hybrid of "falling sand" style game with a Roguelike^[13]^[9]

References

^ bittker, max. "making sandspiel". maxbittker.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-07. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
^ "The History and Theory of Sandbox Gameplay". www.gamasutra.com. 16 July 2009. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
^ ^a ^b "DOFI-BLOG どふぃぶろぐ". ishi.blog2.fc2.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-20. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Overview". Falling Sand Game. Archived from the original on 2009-04-23.
^ "Time Killer: The Sand Game (It's Great Fun)". PC World. Archived from the original on 2008-10-28.
^ ^a ^b "Falling Sand Game". boredhumans.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
^ "Noita: a Game Based on Falling Sand Simulation". 80.lv. 5 April 2019. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
^ "Noita wiki - Falling Sand Game". gamepedia.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-09. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
^ ^a ^b "Sand Physics Go Wild in Noita". techraptor.net. 14 December 2019. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
^ Atari mania. "Down fall". Retrieved 2024-03-29.
^ Carless, Simon (2005-12-24). "Welcome to the World of Sand". GameSetWatch. Archived from the original on 2011-09-26. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
^ Quilty-Harper, Conrad (2006-02-15). "Falling Sand: The Sequel". Joystiq. Archived from the original on 2021-01-08. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cox, Matt (10 October 2019). "From falling sand to Falling Everything: the simulation games that inspired Noita". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
^ Donahoo, Daniel. "Digital Play: This Is Sand". Wired. Archived from the original on 2021-01-09. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
^ "Explosive fun for students". edgalaxy.com. 3 September 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-01-07. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
^ "the sandbox". metacritic.com. Archived from the original on 2022-09-23. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
^ "The Sandbox gaming platform receives $2.5m investment". finance.yahoo.com. 28 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
^ Corcobado, Miguel Ángel (2018-01-24). "Ciencia divertida a través del móvil". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
^ Hasan, Mehedi (2021-07-17). "10 Best Sandbox Games For Android To Make Your Own Fun". UbuntuPIT. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
^ "みんなペイントマーカーは持ったな！アメリカ発祥のスポーツ「ペイントボール」を体験できるFPS登場―採れたて！本日のSteam注目ゲーム3選【2023年11月27日】". Game*Spark - 国内・海外ゲーム情報サイト (in Japanese). 2023-11-27. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
^ "SandSpiel by max bittker - Experiments with Google". experiments.withgoogle.com. Archived from the original on 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2022-05-22.