  Patchy particles is the name given to a large class of systems of mesoscopic
particles characterized by a repulsive core and a discrete number of
short-range and highly directional interaction sites. Numerical simulations
have contributed significantly to our understanding of the behaviour of patchy
particles, but, although simple in principle, advanced simulation techniques
are often required to sample the low temperatures and long time scales
associated with their self-assembly behaviour. In this work we review the most
popular simulation techniques that have been used to study patchy particles,
with a special focus on Monte Carlo methods. We cover many of the tools
required to simulate patchy systems, from interaction potentials to biased
moves, cluster moves, and free energy methods. The review is complemented by an
educationally-oriented Monte Carlo computer code that implements all the
techniques described in the text to simulate a well-known tetrahedral patchy
particle model.
