Crazy Machines 1.5 - More Gizmos, Gadgets & Whatchamacallits

3.3 | 34 ratings

Price: 13.99

Last update: 08-21-2024

About this item

Get ready for explosive action and building fun with this brain-teazing puzzle game
Create zany "Rube Goldberg" devices using 100 awesome and wacky parts
Go crazy with over 200 brand-new gizmo-twistin' levels
Enjoy all-new elements, music, backgrounds, and more
Start off in the Inventor's Training Camp to sharpen your skills

Top reviews from the United States

DKF

Watch out for the system requirements

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2008

Be sure to double check the system requirements using the Viva Media web site before you buy!

The 1.0 version had a bug where it would not start even though it installed properly, for which the developer issued a patch.
This version (1.5) has the same problem, but NO PATCH is available. When I emailed Viva Media about the situation, they responded that I didn't have enough graphics memory. Too bad those requirements are NOT spelled out in the Amazon listing!

Buyer beware!

Cthulhu

It crashes but it's fun

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2007

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?

P. Meyer

Fun with slight install issue....

Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2008

Software is great. My kids, age 6 and 7, really like it and have learned about some basic mechanical mechanisms. Quite a few entertainment hours for the cost.

The only issue I have is that the software requires the user to be an 'administrator' level account. Not just to install but to run. My kids account is 'limited' for obvious reasons. I run XP Pro.

Luckily, I'd seen a comment about this issue in another posting.

4, not 5, because of this item.

BW & ABAP

Why wouldn't you buy this?

Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2007

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.

Mac-lover

Don't know how to rate

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2007

I wish I could really rate Crazy Machines 1.5 but I can't...because I see the package says it's just for Windows 98/ME/2000/XP so I can't use it on my Mac. I didn't read the specs on-line before buying because I thought it would play on a PC or Mac just like the first version. I hope a Mac version is available sometime, and I hope version 2 is available on Mac as well. Crazy Machines is too good to limit to PC users only.

Gordon L Chase

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2017

Arrived on time and worked as described

Ripkitty

Not your standard video game ...

Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2007

This is a fun game for those who like building things, following the logic of mechanics to their conclusion, snd don't mind trial and error exercises. The interface is clunky, but usable.

It's a buy at the current Amazon low price.

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