There is more than one way to get a mouse to his (or her) house.

Are you one of those creative genius that like to take a bit of this, and a little of that, and put together a wild invention that really doesn’t do much, but looks awfully cool?

Get ready, because The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions is coming your way. What is the Incredible Machine? Well, simply stated, it is a variety of household items worked together in a two-dimensional setting to create a machine that may make a toaster pop, or – as mentioned above – help a mouse get home.

This Sierra release for the PC is a fascinating game that requires players to use their mental faculties. Previous incarnations of The Incredible Machine have picked up all sorts of awards, not only within the software industry, but also from respected publications.

In essence, this is how the game works: You are given a goal for what your contraption will do. In many cases, the project is half finished, but you must complete it and get the machine to operate successfully. You move parts from the parts bin (things like shears, gears, tubes, balls, et cetera) to construct the machine, and then hit the start button. If all goes as planned, you are on your way to a ‘doctorate of contrapology’ degree.

If you are new to this product, you don’t need to worry. There is not only a tutorial to give you an idea how the program works, but four levels ranging from easy to expert, a two-player mode, and a homemade (or freeform) mode. In the lower difficulty levels, you can ask the Professor (your audio game guide) for hints and help, and you can get it. Perhaps the best hints the Professor can give any player(s) is to look at what you have in place, look at your goal, then work backwards in building the machine.

Sierra has populated this product with a host of gizmos and do-dads for players to use in building contraptions. And the graphical quality of the program is lush, bright and colorful. The audio is full of a stock library of Sierra musical themes, as well as a few that may be new. Together they create a wonderful playground for the creative mind.

The controls are very simple, to the point where just about anyone who can use a mouse, can navigate through the game, or create fantastic machines.

And if challenge is what you are looking for, this game comes packed with it. At the easy level, there are 50 puzzles; there are also 50 at the medium level; the difficult level packs in 55 puzzles, as does the expert; the two-player game has 61 puzzles. You decide how many there are in the homemade portion of the program.

The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions is family-oriented fun. It is the type of game that allows parents and children to work together, or can even allow parents the luxury of knowing that younger players are involved in a game that is constructive, creative fun.

Install: Easy
The minimum install is only 2 megs, the medium asks for 75, and the large install is 134 megs of hard-drive space. This game moves along quickly.

Gameplay: 8
You can ask for hints, and that will slow down the speed of the quest, but if you don’t, the only lag you will experience is when you are in thoughtful meditation.

Graphics: 8
The graphics are two-dimensional, but richly rendered.

Sound: 8.5
This is a wonderful support for the video elements. The sound is crisp and clean.

Difficulty: 8
There is something here to challenge any level of player.

Concept: 7.5
This may be a sequel to an award-winning program, but it still manages to come off as something fresh and innovative.

Multiplayer: 7.5
The head-to-head challenge is well done, and this program comes packed with WONswap, a program that allows you to swap puzzles with friends online.

Overall: 8
This is a wonderful program that will challenge players to use their brains in ways that involve both logic and creativity. This may not be packaged as a straight ‘edutainment’ title, but it nonetheless has the elements to cross over into that genre. There are many hours of fun packaged into this game.