Turing Tumble

Discover how computers work

See how simple switches, connected together in clever ways, can do incredibly smart things.

Build marble-powered computers

Turing Tumble is a revolutionary new game where players (ages 8 to adult) build mechanical computers powered by marbles to solve logic puzzles. It’s fun, addicting, and while you’re at it, you discover how computers work.

Discover how computers work

Computers are full of ingenious logic and astonishing creativity. They’re everywhere, but most of us don’t understand how they work.

With Turing Tumble, you can see for yourself how computers work: The logic isn’t hidden inside a computer chip, it’s right there in front of you.

Hands on, screen off

Have a blast learning to code in a language without words. Turing Tumble blurs the line between coding and building machinery. There’s no syntax to learn, no abstraction, and no electronics at all.

Great for educators

Kids learn best when they use their senses to explore new concepts. Turing Tumble teaches coding strategy as well as abstract concepts like binary, binary operations, and logic gates in a fun, tangible way.

The Parts

Build computers with six different types of parts.

Ramps

Directs balls in one direction, either to the left or to the right.

Crossovers

Lets ball paths cross over one another. Balls come in one side and exit on the opposite side.

Bits

The bit adds logic. It stores information by pointing to the right or to the left, like a 1 or 0.

Interceptors

When the computer’s objective is complete, the interceptor is used to stop the computer from releasing any more balls.

Gears and Gear Bits

The gear bits are mind-bending, but they add a whole new level of functionality. They also make the computer Turing-complete, which means that if the board were big enough, it could do anything a regular computer can do (in theory!).

What else can it do?

The only limit is the size of the board.
The Turing Tumble mechanical computer can do all sorts of things. It can:

count
add
subtract
multiply
divide
compare numbers
it can do logic
it can create patterns
and much, much more…