Universe Sandbox is exactly what its name implies: a place for you to play around with astronomical bodies and see how changing various things will effect the macro-universe. I think it is one of the most unique and awesome titles on Steam. It is well put together, the physics in the game accurately demonstrate real-life laws, and the recent update that puts you directly into a tutorial the first time you start the game really helps you figure out the, at first intimidating amount of, options that you can play around with.

Whether for work, play, or educational purposes, Universe Sandbox is an excellent title that I don't think any Steam account should lack. If you have *any* interest, even a minute amount, in astronomy, physics, or even if you ever wondered what would happen to Saturn's rings if Neptune flew too close, you need to have this game. It's very relaxing to play with, and the the engine is extremely deep - allowing you to truly let your imagination run wild.

The GUI is clean and efficient, and the pre-built simulations and environments are extremely well put together and fun to play with. Some examples include:

*Environments:*
Our Solar System
Local Galaxies
Earth & Moon
Saturn & Moons

*Physics Playgrounds:*
Small Scale Gravity
Floating Moons
Galaxy Collision

Buy now, build your own galaxy or satellite system, and watch what happens as time passes and you introduce variables into the equation.

*Bonus:* You can smash an asteroid into Earth to see what would happen, awesome for those bad days at the office.

Education is fun! At least with this massive sandbox of the universe. Play with orbits, gravity, mass. Not arcade, but based on astronomic facts. You can crash complete milky way systems by messing with the real parameters.

Limitless potential to experiment and experience. Understand the way in which our universe works to an extent you couldn't ever receive in any class. An educational yet absurdly enjoyable experience.

When I say that I'd reccomend this game it's only to a small niche of people. Because I happen to fall in the niche I rather liked Universe Sandbox, though I can see where many people woud not. Universe Sandbox is pretty self explanatory in the title, its a astrophysics sandbox in which you can create and destroy solar systems, galaxys, or even galaxy clusters (if your computer is beefy enough) Many stats and attributed are tracked as you simulate the astral dance of heavenly bodies. Things like density, spin, velocity, mass, and heat are all tracked and simulated real time to give you the most realistic expierience possible. Unfortunately it doesnt get very realistic. My biggest gripe i would suppose is the physics. The game uses Eular math, or if you have a processing power Runge Kata. But eventually stable orbits will do someting completely random, sending a few planets and stars on random vectors straight out if your little "pitri dish". This doesnt bother me too much because it mostly only happens when it comes to simulating galaxies. On the solar system level it does quite well and it has enough options to accomodate nearly any computer's processing power. That is, if you can navigate the menus. Theres lots of options and statistics for every celestial body and you can edit every fascet. the problem is, this creates a very confusing series of menus, with confusing abbreviations and volcabulary if you're not already familiar with scientific notation and units of measurement. If the menus were a bit more friendly I think it would open up this game to alot more people. The actual simulation field can be a bother to wrangle too. I found it sometimes likes to snap focus to nearly every other celestial body but the one I want to focus on. The "searchbar" at the top ended up being my best friend. But if youre like me, and you can wrangle the menus and put up with the sometimes sketchy simulation, it truely is a universe at your fingertips. This simulator will only take you as far as your imagination (or processor) will take you. Binary systems, rings around Earth. Have you ever wondered what it would look like if the earth had a ring then the moon crashed through it? Rather spectacular I must say. The possiblities are more or less limitless, given your computer can handle the math. If youre into astronomey, physics or just enjoy space to any degree this game is worth checking out. But without an actual objectives or things to accomplish, this game falls short of actually being a game. It would be better described as an app. This app probably isnt right for the masses, but just right for the armchair astronomer in me.

You like the night sky? Want help learning constellations? Want to learn more about the solar system? Want to build your own? Here you go.