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Great addition to an already fantastic game!.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 113 / 113
Date: March 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This version actually contains two separate games: "Inventor's Training Camp" and "New From the Lab." Like the original Crazy Machines, each consists of a series of puzzles (e.g., "put this ball in that box") that you have to solve by devising Rube-Goldberg-like contraptions using various equipment at hand (e.g., belts, gears, motors, explosives, etc.). They are great fun--both for adults and children.

"Inventor's Training Camp" is exactly what it sounds like--a set of easy challenges to help beginners learn about various elements in the Crazy Machines lab. In addition to the elements from the first version, it add things like a frog that hops when you touch it, a mouse that runs when you hit its tail, a teapot, colored blocks, and a top hat. The interface has more primary colors in it than the original "Crazy Machines" and some of the icons are different. But basically it works like the original game. Overall, the "Training Camp" it is a great way to get oriented in how the game works. If you have not played the game before, this is the place to start.

"New From the Lab" has the same look and feel as the original "Crazy Machines," but it also adds several new elements (these new elements are different from the new elements in "Inventor's Training Camp"). These include a timer switch (good for time bombs), a wheel with five paddles, an old-fashioned phonograph (that plays a funny "la la, la la, la la" tune when powered with a belt), a wrecking ball, and wheeled carts. The new devices really do add a lot to the game-play experience.

Both of these games have a "My Lab" mode where you can just tinker around with the elements. More interestingly, you also can create your own puzzles for other players to solve. Thus, you can indefinitely add on to the 100 or so puzzles that come with the game. You also can export your custom-made games to disk and play them on other computers. I can see how this could be very, very fun for friends to exchange their own custom-made puzzles. My son and I already have just started doing this for each other.

This is a wonderful, wonderful, family computer game--one that I wish were around when I was a boy. My five-year-old son and I have spent, literally, scores of hours playing various versions of the Crazy Machines franchise together. It really is a game where parents and children can play as equals. It does not promote violence (OK, there are lots of explosive devices, but nobody ever gets hurt--except the robot). And it is not typical children's software pabulum. I think it really does teach problem-solving skills, too. Countless times while playing, my son declares "Oh, I have an idea!" and then tests his idea out to see whether it will solve the problem. And, in the process, he is learning things about gravity, electricity, steam, fire, light, and mechanics.

As for recommended ages, 5 to 95 would be a good range. My 5-year-old son had some problems with the interface at first, but now is a pro and can--and does--work the puzzles by himself. Parents with small children should put in the time helping kids learn it, as it can be frustrating at first. Also, some of the puzzles require the ability to read instructions, which may be a challenge for beginning readers.

I have some complaints about the game, however.

First, it is habit-forming. I am a 36-year-old lawyer. I have a five-year-old son. I don't know who is more addicted to the game. Each of us spend, literally, hours a week on it. We look forward to Saturday mornings when we have a long block of time in which to play it (while my wife is taking daughter to dance lessons).

Second, it does not appear to come with an instruction manual or on-line help system. The game can be a bit bewildering at first. This might deter some users from pressing forward, which would be a shame. Even seasoned users can find the lack of instructions to be frustrating. Only recently have I happened upon shortcut keys ("x" for zooming in and out, "s" for starting/stopping the experiment, "v" for adding/removing shadows, "t" for testing the experiment in "My Lab.") This is particularly frustrating in the My Lab area when trying to devise your own puzzle. It takes a while to learn how to establish the objectives for your experiment (hint: adding a flag to an object creates a goal for the experiment, as does dragging collision-target arrows for movable objects to a blue "target zone" box). If there were an instruction manual--even a short one--it really would add to the enjoyment of the game. (On the other hand, enterprising users can just view the absence of a manual as yet another puzzle to solve . . . )

Third, it crashes with much more frequency than it should. I am running it on two Windows XP computers that have more than adequate horsepower: one is a Pentium IV and one is a Core2Duo. Both have oodles of RAM and capable graphics cards. Yet it crashes about once every hour or two of play. Not a huge deal, but annoying when it happens.

Fourth, I find the professor (who chimes in with comments at random times) to be annoying. Happily, you can shut him up by disabling the professor option in the settings screen.

Overall, however, I highly recommended Crazy Machines 1.5. For existing Crazy Machine addicts, buy this. It will help to pass the time until Crazy Machines 2 comes out (supposedly at the end of 2007). The additional elements are worth the price. For new users, I would recommend buying both 1.0 and 1.5. Heaps of fun. If you are not entirely convinced, buy 1.5 and start in the "Training Camp." You will be an addict soon.

Why wouldn't you buy this?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 21 / 21
Date: July 16, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Negative:
- You will need a good graphics card (newer computer) to be able to run this software. My 2001 laptop doesn't even run the program. A 2004 laptop runs it, but crashes often. Performance significantly improved after I changed the settings on the options screen to show graphics at a low quality (shadows off, bilinear, and low resolution). My 3-year old desktop with an upgraded graphics card (256 MB memory) plays it well, but the program crashes once in a while. Works much better when you run the program in a window (instead of full screen).

Positives:
- Uses mechanical engineering, engineering mechanics, and electrical engineering concepts in a very broad scale (not actually realistic) to solve interesting and entertaining puzzles. Really gives children (and adults) a good mental exercise.
- It is much more entertaining to not solve the puzzle, but do something else to see what happens. For example, you have to put two boards together so that a robot travels on the boards. However, you should try putting some gap between the boards and see the robot crashing to the ground. It is amazing how the programmers have built this sofware.
- Most annoying things (professor and background music) can be easily disabled, but other noices such as steam whistle tooting can not be disabled. So, when things are crashing around and hitting each other, it could get very noisy. Of course, you can stop all that by muting your computer.
- There are 101 puzzles including 5 (or so) tests for you to solve. My 8-year old child has solved some 90 puzzles in just one day. I got to help only occationally. After every test, the player gets a certificate/degree. My child was really proud after receiving the doctorate degree. Additionally, you can create your own problem and then solve that problem and save it. So, the fun and learning never ends.
- It is addictive, but in a good way. In my opinion, it is good to engage in assembling things and solving problems.
- Strongly suggest buying the software as it is a good investment in overall development of a child.

An ingenious and addictive game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 14
Date: April 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Crazy machines 1.5 is a thinking game that kids (as well as adults) will enjoy. It challenges a person to use a variety of common everyday items (such as boards, ropes, balls, candles, gears, pipes, etc.)to accomplish a given task set before him. My son, age 8, is totally addicted to this game. We first started with the previous version called "wacky contraptions" and both my son and I were hooked. We have almost solved all the challenges within the "wacky contraptions" version and were delighted to discover the 1.5 game. It is a great learning tool teaching problem solving techniques. What's fun about the game is how each item reacts within a given puzzle. For example, a motor drives a pulley system that rotates an electric generator that powers an array of devices that will get an item from point "A" to point "B" thereby solving the puzzle.
The training section consists of simple challenges meant to teach how each tool works. My son rifled through this only because he was a veteran of the "wacky contraption" version (I think he went through most all the 100 training puzzles within roughly an hour).
The "new from the lab" section offers more challenging puzzles. My son now finds himself spending a lot more time per puzzle in an effort to solve them.
Oh, did I say that this is a very addictive game? We have two computers and my son and I are locked in competition to see who solves the next puzzle first My wife shutters when the signiture theme song begins to play (my favorite theme choice is a peppy one supplied as an option within the control panel).
This is a great gift and a fun game that the whole family can enjoy.
P.S. I found out that another version of this game is set to come out in the fall of 2007.

Great addition to 1.0: kid's can't wait until 2.0

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: March 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My 7 & 9 yr olds loved 1.0. They get a kick out of some of the new things in 1.5 (a mouse & frog, among other things, I've been told).

Anyway- easily a well-spent ~$15. I anticipate hrs of creative use.

It crashes but it's fun

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 16 / 19
Date: March 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My 8 and 9 yr. old kids did the first 25 of 101 puzzles in about one hour. The puzzles do get more interesting as they progress.

2 issues: on an XP computer, the games does not seem to want to run unless someone is logged in as an Administrator. With regular accounts, the kids got some error that Microsoft wanted to see. After I allowed them to use my account, the game crashed anyway but that happened after about one hour.

Also, there is some annoying guy's head that pops up and says useless and annoying things. I suspect there's a way to turn it off but it's not obvious because there is no manual. Which begs the question: why need a huge, thick plastic box for one CD and 2 pages?

Insanely fun game, but be warned of potential crashes

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: July 14, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have been a fan of the original Incredible Machine, and also enjoyed Sierra's "Return of the Incredible Machine" remakes. However, this one takes the cake. With true 3D modeled parts and the integrated physics engine, it makes gameplay much more fun and realistic than any of the other Incredible Machine games.

Thumbs up for:

- 3D modeled parts
- A physics engine which simulates realistic object collisions
- Very challenging puzzles for people of any age
- Limitless fun constructing your own crazy puzzles
- Many new and interesting parts, such as a record player powered by rotary motion, a crazy sausage grilling machine, and a new-and-improved blimp

Thumbs down for:

The "Professor" is a little animated old guy who pops in at times to say some random things regarding your (in)ability to solve the contraption. But he really grates on your nerves quite quickly. His phrases are repetitive, and sometimes his presence gets in the way of being able to place parts. Luckily he can be turned off completely in the Options menu.

Also, the game DOES seem to crash regularly on XP - about once every 45 minutes or so. Perhaps this doesn't happen to many users, I'm not sure. But I advise users to SAVE their custom-made contraptions at every opportunity, to avoid losing any unsaved work. Also, there is a method I've found to prevent the system from locking up to the point of restarting: Go into the Game Options and play in Windowed mode, not Full Screen. By doing this, you will only get the "Program has encountered an error and needs to close" message - Your entire computer won't lock up.

All in all, a very addictive game with some minor problems.

Gotta Get It!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: May 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My kids spend hours on this stuff. Really gets them thinking, using logic, math, and science principals. Great for adults who love to tinker, like that grandfather or father-in-law.For anyone whose ever disassembled something to try and fix it!

Great Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: September 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I play this with my 6 year old twins who love it. We have just completed all 101 of the training ones. I got this as opposed to 1.0 because of the training set and am glad I did.
The others are a lot trickier but they enjoy the challenge and applying their ideas.
I think there is a junior addition to this which I will have to get.
Good fun challenging game for all the family

crazy program

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: May 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought for my grand daughter and shee has spent endless hours building the crazy machines.

Excellent educational software

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: May 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

If you have a child that you are interested in learning physics and problem solving skills, this is a good program. My 8-year old daughter enjoys the puzzles.

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