Simstack, SSH escape room for developers

Hacker News

I built a realistic prod system under heavy pressure where you SSH in and solve real problems. You get your own server (real box) and have to fix various things up under fire. a friend told me it reminded them of DOOM for SREs, another called it a "flight simulator" because you can do anything (and reboot if you crash). someone else said it was like "an escape room for engineers", in that you have to find your own way around an unfamiliar box and solve puzzles. idk, maybe it's fun. try it! how it works: you get two Hetzner servers: a traffic generator (real traffic from NYC taxi data highly compressed to 12k rps) firing tons of requests at a user server, which has some (realistically) broken stuff trying to get that data to a chart. your job is to get it working and get the whole system latency down. You can use whatever tools or techniques you like to do so. so far I've seen people messing around in databases, adding caching, rewriting services in go. There's no one right solution! why I'm building it: I was a school teacher 15 years ago and have been training developers for the last 10. most dev training (tutorials, toy projects &c) feels nothing like the "real job". I wanted to see if we can make training more realistic, challenging, fun.

Visit product View on Hacker NewsJun 19, 2025

Share card

Actual performance

6points

1comments

Did not reach leaderboard

Launch Intel predictions

Analyze your own launch →

Indie HackersFits the IH revenue-focused audience · Missing: supports, reddit linkedin, podcasting

88%88% predicted probability of success on Indie Hackers, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Hacker NewsStrong engagement from HN community · Strong signals: io · Missing: https docs, excited, just released

83%83% predicted probability of success on Hacker News, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

nativeThis product was originally launched on this platform.

Product HuntUnlikely to reach the leaderboard · Strong signals: user · Missing: mac, agents, macos

47%47% predicted probability of success on Product Hunt, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

TrustMRRLess likely to generate early MRR · Strong signals: way · Missing: mobile apps, ios, personal

43%43% predicted probability of success on TrustMRR, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

AppSumoMay struggle as an AppSumo deal · Missing: plus, platform, intuitive

27%27% predicted probability of success on AppSumo, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Acquire.comPre-revenue stage for this audience · Strong signals: training · Missing: arr, mrr, revenue

18%18% predicted probability of success on Acquire.com, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

BetaListMay not resonate with beta-testers · Missing: web3, chat, crypto

0%0% predicted probability of success on BetaList, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Incorrect prediction on native model

Similar products

An escape room in your browser71%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

An escape room in your browser

Hacker News25

Yomigo21%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Organize Escape Room Competitions

Indie Hackerscommitment-full-time

Escape The Room: AR47%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

An escape room in your own room using AR

Indie Hackerscommitment-side-project

Startup Escape35%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

A startup-themed escape room in San Francisco

Indie Hackerscommitment-side-project

Remotely Controlled Escape Room78%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Remotely Controlled Escape Room

Hacker News85

Eleven Puzzles60%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Online Escape Room

Indie Hackers2$1,000/mogames

I Made an Escape Room Themed Prompt Injection Challenge40%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

I Made an Escape Room Themed Prompt Injection Challenge

Hacker News3

Escape the Room, bounded AI stats game47%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Escape the Room, bounded AI stats game

Hacker News2

Moonshot – A video conference escape room for 10-100 players49%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Moonshot – A video conference escape room for 10-100 players

Hacker News1

Bail While You Can – Escape Coronavirus in Bali52%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Bail While You Can – Escape Coronavirus in Bali

Hacker News1

Browse all products Analyze your launch