Quick Answer
Machine Party has 15 simulations (the developers' own term — "minigame" is community shorthand). They ship in two modes:
- Original mode: all 15 simulations play in a fixed sequence. A full match takes roughly 40–60 minutes.
- Arcade mode: a 10-simulation random pick, designed to fight the replay fatigue that Original's fixed order causes.
Every simulation ends with the loser being executed, which is the game's whole pitch: a friendly competition where losing is lethal.
After the v2.0 update on August 12, 2026 (UTC), six of the 15 simulations play differently in couch co-op than they do online — covered in the section below.
Two Modes, Same Simulations
| Mode | Simulations per run | Order | Typical run length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 15 | Fixed | 40–60 minutes |
| Arcade | 10 | Random | Roughly two-thirds of Original |
The set of simulations is the same in both modes — Original always runs the full 15, Arcade draws 10 from the same pool.
A Custom mode also appears in the v2.0 announcement as a third selectable option for both online and local play, but the developers have not publicly documented what it configures — the most likely interpretation is a custom-rules mode, but this is not confirmed. Treat it as "another mode that exists" rather than a known ruleset.
All 15 Simulations
The list below covers every simulation in the game. Names follow the spelling from the official Steam achievements page (so it's Spinebreaker as one word and the Filter with a lowercase the). The minefield and smoke-break simulations don't have official names — they're called "Minefield" and "Smoke Break" by community and media outlets, but those are not Valve-blessed labels.
| Simulation | What you have to do | How to win |
|---|---|---|
| Minefield (community name) | Walk through a corridor of mines using a sonar detector; a harvester chases from behind | Reach the end without touching a mine. Three rounds, each more dangerous |
| Chisel Gauntlet | A 3×3 grid of blocks appears with a section removed; you have a few seconds to chisel the missing shape | Chisel the right pattern before time runs out. Survive to the round where the missing block count hits the cap |
| Firearm Factory | Race to assemble a firearm at your workbench from scattered parts, then shoot the other players | Be the first to finish your gun, or kill someone who finished theirs first |
| Wrong Way | Stand on an upward escalator; the display tells you which direction to face | Hit 50 correct directional inputs in a row |
| Duck Hunt | One player is a sniper on a high perch; the rest are runners in a corridor below | Runners: reach the end. Sniper: kill every runner |
| Stable Footing | You can only stand on tiles that light up; tiles vanish round by round | Be the last player standing. Survive to a round with only ten tiles left |
| Table Manners | Eat peas off a plate with a fork; a killer at the table reads a newspaper | Finish your plate before time runs out. Freeze when the killer looks up |
| Tunnel Hazard | A train is coming; grab a green-lit alcove before the train arrives | Be in the last remaining green alcove. Red ones drop pillars |
| Inside Job | A syringe is hidden in an office; whoever finds it becomes the infected player and has to inject the others | Get the syringe and infect someone fast — infected players now move 1.15× normal speed as of v2.0 |
| Smoke Break (community name) | Race to smoke cigarettes on beat | Smoke more than the others; coughing means you broke rhythm |
| Debris Platforms | Each player stands on a circular platform with junk piling up | Clear your platform before the piston crushes you — or throw junk onto someone else's |
| Spinebreaker | A mechanical spider with a countdown timer chases you | Throw the spider at another player with under 1 second left on the timer, or just survive until it expires |
| Lethal Rebound | Dodge unpredictable bouncing blade saws coming out of crawl spaces | Push 15 opponents into the blades total — that's the achievement tied to this one |
| Forklift Certified | Use a forklift to move crates into your own room within the time cap | End the round with the fewest crates in your room — stealing from others is allowed |
| the Filter | Throw picture frames into a furnace and let machine parts through; score by sorting correctly | Win a round at 100% sorting accuracy — that's the achievement tied to this one |
The "how to win" column is the practical win condition. The full game-end rule is the same across all simulations: the loser is executed, so you're either the last one standing, the one who completed the objective, or both.
The Six Simulations That Changed in v2.0 Couch Co-op
The v2.0 update on August 12, 2026 (UTC) didn't just add couch co-op — it adjusted six simulations specifically for split-screen and big-screen play. Everything in this list applies only in couch co-op; online behaviour is unchanged unless called out.
| Simulation | What changes in couch co-op |
|---|---|
| Minefield | The camera now follows the group based on the distance between all players, instead of following one fixed viewpoint |
| Chisel Gauntlet | The view switches between a single shared screen and split screen depending on whether the jumbotron is being viewed |
| Duck Hunt | The screen splits in half. Runners go left, hunter goes right, and the runner camera pulls back and follows players by their distance apart |
| Inside Job | Now works in split screen |
| the Filter | Now works in split screen |
| Firearm Factory | The required assembly part is now shown on every workbench, instead of only at the bottom of the factory |
Every other simulation behaves the same online and on the couch.
One online change worth flagging while we're here: Inside Job's infected players now move at 1.15× normal speed (v2.0 changelog). Previously they moved at the same speed as the players hiding from them — so if Inside Job felt like a stalemate before, that's why it doesn't any more.
Tips for Surviving the Full Set
A few rules of thumb that hold across most simulations:
- Listen for the pattern cues. Most simulations telegraph their state — escalator beeps, jumbotron roars, harvester engine pitch — and the people who win consistently are the ones who react to the sound, not the visual.
- Don't be the fastest mover, be the last one wrong. Several simulations (Tunnel Hazard, Wrong Way, Stable Footing) reward steady players more than twitchy ones. The couch co-op changes in v2.0 also tend to favour the player who keeps their spacing, not the player who sprints.
- Cumulative achievements are gated by replay volume, not skill. Will it blend! (15 cumulative shoves into the saw blades in Lethal Rebound) and Full Pack (20 cumulative smokes in Smoke Break) are both Tier 3 cumulative grinds — not because they're mechanically hard, but because Original mode is 40–60 minutes long and Arcade only picks 10 of 15 simulations per run. Full breakdown on our achievements page.
- Pick your input device per simulation. Players on Steam Deck and with controllers report that several simulations (notably Chisel Gauntlet and the Filter) play worse with mouse than gamepad — the opposite of what's typical. Try both if your first attempt feels off.
- Lobby etiquette matters. Inside Job, Duck Hunt, and the asymmetric simulations depend on players not leaving mid-round. The official Discord LFG channel is the developer's recommended way to find a reliable group — link on our Discord page.
What's Coming Next
The discussion board and Steam reviews both show a recurring player request: "more simulations." The developers haven't announced any additions as of August 12, 2026 (UTC) — the v2.0 announcement covered couch co-op, not content. If a new simulation or achievement drops, this page and the achievements page get updated on the same day.
For the beginner's path through Original mode — what to do in round 1, which simulations are friendliest to first-timers — see our survival guide.