Crazy Machines is a physics based puzzle game from dtp entertainment AG. It was first introduced for the PC and then later on the Nintendo DS.

While I liked the game on the PC, the implementation for the iPhone just does not work as well as it should. What you are left with is a hard to control, limited version of the game.

All the basic elements of the original are there, but the workspace is confined to the size of the iPhone screen. With the ability to zoom out and use more space, this game would be way better.

For those of you that have never played, the game is designed around making Rube Goldberg machines. A Rube Goldberg machine is a deliberately over engineered apparatus that performs a very simple task. For example, instead of just turning on a blimp to float across the room, you would have a lit candle light a rocket that would then bounce off of perfectly placed boards and ricochet into scissors that cut a rope causing a weight to drop to start the blimp so then it could float across the room.

Crazy Machines consists of 50 levels where you must accomplish a simple goal by completing one of these half finished machines. The challenge comes from the fact that you are only given a limited number of objects to complete the machine.

I like that this game does make you think. When you do finally overcome some of the tough levels and get to watch your machine successfully accomplish its goal, it is rewarding.

It is also nice that there is no right answer. You can set up the elements in any way as long as you accomplish the designated goal. Once you have passed a challenge you can watch what is called the professor’s solution, and your own, to compare the different techniques of solving the level.

Once you have completed the 50 levels there is no real reason to go back, therefore the replay value is not too high. To combat this issue the developers have added a part of the game called the construction kit. This is my favorite part of the game because it gives you a lot of freedom. In the construction kit, you are given the ability to just take all the available elements and create your own machine from scratch. The biggest let down of the construction kit is that the building area is again too small but you can still make some pretty fun machines.

Lastly, the controls in the game do get the job done, but they are little clunky. More than a few times I meant to move something or rotate it, and the wrong item was selected. Sometimes it would take three or four tries to select the correct item.

All in all, I liked playing Crazy Machines, but there is nothing about it that pulls me back, so it is hard to recommend. For those of you that like physics based games, or really like puzzles, you’ll probably have fun with it. Just don’t expect it to last.