So what similar games are there?

[Kevan]

Seeing as this discussion area hasn't had any posts yet... what other games do people know of, that work in the same sort of machine-building vein as Rubicon? I'm guessing that most people here will have played The Incredible Machine, Bridge Builder and maybe Armadillo Run, but are there any good obscurities out there?

I was quite surprised to discover TЯAPT on the PS2 a while ago - it looks like a generic 3D running-and-fighting weapons-and-spells game, but it's only the enemies that get the swords and bows and magic powers, and you just have to keep running away from them. You can, however, position traps around the room (you can pause the game at any time and set them up), and then trigger them manually when an opponent's standing in a suitable place. There isn't much machine-building to it - you can only have three traps installed at once, and they're mostly variations on the same mechanics - but it's certainly satisfying to construct an efficient combination of boulders and springboards, and there's a lot of easter egg discovery (causing your traps to trigger environmental effects, such as using a push wall to knock a scenic pillar over) that I haven't gotten too deeply into.

[Rene]

Super Serif Bros http://jayisgames.com/archives/2006/07/super_serif_bros.php reminded me of Rubicon, although it could use the Rubicon excellent graphics to improve it.

Personal Universe http://jayisgames.com/archives/2006/10/personal_universe.php also has similarities. Might be great to add "sticky gum" to Rubicon, that makes cargo stick together....

Block Action http://jayisgames.com/archives/2006/07/block_action.php might fall in the same category as well.

[Gameman]

liquid webtoy maybe... (dan-ball.jp/javagame/mc/)

[Abcde360]

Theres a game, crate man, that some how looks the same. http://www.puzzledepot.com/arcade/crate.shtml

[immibis]

I nominate Phun.

[ddsdiur]

How about http://fantasticcontraption.com/Fantastic contraption?