Algodoo is a 2D physics simulator which aims to be easy to use, educational and fun.

“Physics”, “easy” and “fun” aren’t words that everyone would link together, but Algodoo gets a lot closer to delivering on this than you might expert.

The program opens with what looks like a regular drawing tool. Select, click and drag and you’re able to draw cartoon-like boxes, circles, gears, ropes, chains and more.

These aren’t just static shapes, though– they’re real objects in Algodoo’s 2D world, and you can freely interact with them.

This might start very simply. Click, drag and drop a circle and you’ll watch it bounce. Drop a large rectangle on a smaller shape and they’ll be deflected in different directions.

Use simple building blocks to create complex scenes, or just choose from 1000’s of ready-to-use downloadable examples

That’s just the start. You’re able to link and combine objects, add fluids, springs and hinges, play around with optics and lenses, alter gravity, friction, attraction and more.

Just right-clicking an object immediately shows you how powerful Algodoo can be. Selecting the “Material” for an object doesn’t only make it look like steel, rubber or wood, it also sets values like density, mass, friction, restitution and attraction, all to make your scene as realistic as possible.

If you don’t want to get into this kind of complexity, no problem: the program has built-in online repository of more than 100,000 scenes created by other users. We found games, simulations (roller coaster, an escalator), models of different objects (cars, planes) and plenty more, all free to download and modify.

Algodoo is available for free on Windows and Mac. There’s also a $4.99 iPad app, but it doesn’t have great reviews and hasn’t been updated since 2013.