Machinations

From your first loop to balanced economies

Guided lessons that take you from a blank canvas to confident systems modeling. Start with the fundamentals, then work through real diagrams at your own pace.

Machinations essentials

19 lessons in order: learn the visual language, then build your first model in a guided project.

Tutorials

Worked diagrams built step by step: 4 series that each build one model, and 10 single lessons.

Browse by chapter

Essentials · Part 1

Machinations fundamentals

  1. Pathway introduction
  2. Overview
  3. What is Machinations?
  4. Interface basics
  5. Simulation models in Machinations
  6. Steps
  7. Resources
  8. Preliminary analysis
  9. Running simulations
Essentials · Part 2

Project: Loot and Craft

  1. Overview
  2. Project overview
  3. Creating a new diagram
  4. Pools: Storing resources
  5. Sources: Generating resources
  6. Resource connections: Transferring resources
  7. Converters: Creating houses
  8. Changing styles
  9. Forecasts: Estimating KPIs
  10. Machinations essentials quiz
Tutorial series

Loot & Craft

  1. Introduction
  2. Crafting & converters
  3. Gates & randomness
  4. Delays, queues & intervals
  5. State connections
  6. Registers
  7. Sinks & end conditions
  8. Chart & simulations
Tutorial series

Level progression

  1. Introduction
  2. Leveling up
  3. Update level-up cost
  4. Calculating level-up costs with formulas
  5. Increasing XP earned per level
  6. Making forecasts with simulations
  7. Earning skill points
  8. Allocating skill points to attributes
  9. Calculating stats
  10. Losing health in battles
Tutorial series

Loot boxes & card packs

  1. Introduction
  2. Building the basics
  3. Chart and forecasts
  4. Duplicate items
  5. Refunding for duplicates
  6. Simple player behavior
  7. Advanced player behavior
  8. Making diagrams readable
  9. Parameters
  10. Spreadsheet integration
Tutorial series

Web3: Constant product market maker

  1. Introduction
  2. Constant product liquidity pool
  3. Swap function
  4. Connecting swap trigger and swap functions
  5. Connect swap B for A: buy A and sell B
Single tutorials

One question, one diagram

  1. Answering questions with Machinations
  2. Level progress planning
  3. Modeling a gacha box
  4. Player skill
  5. Balancing a battle pass
  6. Video tutorials
  7. Increase base stats
  8. Artificial players with agents
  9. Infinite runner game loop
  10. Balancing difficulty and score

Learn by building your own model

Take the lesson into a diagram of your own, Play it and change one value at a time to see why it moves.