What Is Grobots and What Kind of Game Is It?

Grobots is a real-time strategy programming game in which you don't control robots directly—you write programs that control teams of robots as they forage, reproduce, and fight. It runs on Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux, and is free software licensed under the GPL. It suits players who enjoy coding challenges more than twitch gameplay: the learning curve is steep, and the site itself notes that the documentation is poor.

How the game works

The robots are driven by programs called sides, written in a simple dialect of Forth. Instead of issuing commands during a match, you write the logic that decides how your robots behave, then watch the simulation play out. The site provides many existing sides to play with, plus tournament results—the current champion is listed as ISI.

Because the game is a simulation rather than a scripted campaign, the same side can be run repeatedly and compared against others, which is what makes the tournament format work.

Platforms and builds

The site lists four builds, including Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. A Java port by Mike Anderson (announced 2014-07-24) extends this further, running on many more platforms, including Unixes and probably some phones. According to the site, the Java simulation is complete, fast, and compatible with the C++ version—it can run existing sides with essentially the same results. Some GUI windows, notably the minimap, are not yet implemented in the Java port, but the site describes it as already quite usable.

What to expect before you start

• Steep learning curve. The site says so directly, so plan on reading existing sides to learn the Forth dialect.
• Weak documentation. The authors are moving documentation to a wiki and invite users to help improve it.
• Community channels. The main discussion forum is the mailing list; new sides can be sent there or posted to the wiki, including for tournaments.
• Sporadic maintenance. Upkeep from the original authors is sporadic, but the source and binaries are downloadable so you can maintain it yourself. Graphics, statistics, and window layout saw improvements around 2012, and the OSX build received an icon in 2013.

Is it for you?

Choose Grobots if you want a programming project wrapped in a strategy game and are comfortable learning from example code and a mailing list rather than polished tutorials. If you need guided documentation or active, predictable support, the site's own caveats suggest you should look elsewhere—or contribute to the wiki yourself.