Smart Review

Put on your thinking cap...

Smart Games: Challenge #1 is a true test of intellect. There is no story line, no characters, no goal, and no fancy graphics. What is there? Puzzles! Hundreds of logic puzzles (vocabulary and math help too). Watch out! This game might be good for your brain.

Many people who enjoy a little mental exercise now and then will remember The Fool's Errand and 3 in Three. These are the only software titles that even begin to compete with Smart Games for the sheer number of puzzles and required brainpower.

There are twenty different categories of puzzle, from the innovative to the classics. 'Viewing Cubes' will test your ability to mentally rotate 3D objects. In 'Traffic' you must set the parameters for the traffic lights at a series of intersections, then click the go button and watch the little cars navigate. Efficiency is the goal here. 'Word Melt' challenges you to turn one word into another by changing only one letter at a time, but you must spell a real English word every step of the way. This particular type of puzzle was invented by Lewis Carroll about 100 years ago. For a game that is thousands of years old, try 'Marble Jump'.

Add cryptograms, anagrams, a game where you must decipher an artificial language, and dozens of other kinds of puzzles. This is many hundreds of hours worth of game-time. "But Irwin," you ask, "Didn't I hear you mention money?"

So it's the big green that you're after... How about $10,000 per round for five rounds? Every puzzle in Smart Games awards you a score. Don't worry, you can always go back and try again; the game only records your highest score. At the bottom of the screen is a running tabulation of all your puzzle scores. Highest total takes the cash.

One word of warning: My brain is so huge that it influences the tides. That first 10k is mine.