Bridge Builder - Today's Time Waster

Bridge Builder is an oldie but a goodie. The idea of this freely downloadable game is to complete each level's challenge, which is to build a bridge strong enough to allow a train to pass over it without the bridge collapsing. Learning how the game works takes no time at all due to the incredibly simple control scheme. But figuring out what constitutes a strong bridge design can be frustrating, enlightening and exhilarating. There's a certain amount of fun to be derived from watching your painstakingly built bridge collapse unceremoniously, so even when you're frustrated, you're having fun. Thankfully, the stress analysis mode (which turns healthy beams green, and stressed beams red) can help you to determine where the weak point in your design lies.

 

I love this game because along with being incredibly fun and addictive, it's also educational. There is a free version, which is the one I'm describing here, but if you complete it and find that you're completely addicted, there are thankfully 3 newer commercial versions that you can play.