Call Microsoft for the upgrade ($19.95) if you have WIN98, or buy an upgrade to WIN 3.X (or later) for about $89.95. There is also a version that can be installed on a bare machine for a little over $100.

We installed the SE Version over WIN98 and it took 30 minutes. The install program overwrites many files and analyzes all your hardware to see if newer drivers are on the upgrade disk. We had no big problems, but a warning popped up that we needed to upgrade our CD-RW software. Adaptec wrote the CD-RW utilities, but the hardware was from HP. Both Web sites had the upgrade files- three big files that we had to save and then run to update our current software for CD creation, formatting and multimedia. Two of the files updated us smoothly, but the file that writes to CD-RW disks refuses to recognize that we own a registered copy of DirectCD. Adaptec says they are stumped, but their engineers are working on it. Meanwhile, we used the old version and it seemed to work anyway. Apparently, if you install the full version of SE on a bare hard drive, the DirectCD upgrade will work. Very strange! We will keep an eye on the Adaptec Web site so we know when they figure it out.

We have listened to MP3 files and must admit that they sound very good. Details may be missing, but you may like the 'smoother' sound (not exactly Musak). If you want to improve the sound by adding a wider frequency spectrum and more dynamics, visit Arboretum Systems to download the Realizer Sound Module for the popular Winamp MP3 player by Nullsoft. The Realizer is free. Arboretum is the company that sells a wide variety of high end sound improvement software. We already use many of their products.

If you want to make MP3 files, take a look at the Xing MP3 encoder that works just like utilities that create ZIP files.

In Freddi Fish's adventure we are told to find "The Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch." Yes, an underwater 'Western' is a bit of a stretch, but don't laugh. It is wonderful. You will love the many trails, characters and puzzles that get you involved.

	Figure 1. Freddi Fish and Calico Search for the Hogfish Rustlers.
Click on the thumbnail for full image. (99K)

If scenery and trails aren't enough to draw you into the action, then spend your time talking to the characters in the story to get useful information. Remember to stay and talk awhile because you don't get clues right away. There is a lot of problem solving, logical thinking and memorizing the trails.

Once again, Humongous provides a reasonably priced mixture of fun and learning for the young or for those of us who can't find the time to master guru-level edutainment. If you go shopping, also look for the new Backyard Soccer. For convenience, most products have dual Win/Mac compatibility.

The Mind Games are a wonderful collection of accessible puzzles that almost anyone 12 and older can solve. The idea that these Mensa- level puzzles are used to measure intelligence only applies to how fast you can solve each puzzle, but unless you choose the test option there is no time limit.

	Figure 2. The Word Ladder is a Typical Puzzle in Mensa Mind Teasers.
Click on the thumbnail for full image. (61K)

For added excitement, over 500 puzzles in the huge database have 3-D effects, and for variety, you can choose among the three major categories: Numbers, Words and Mazes. Within each category many different kinds of puzzles can be chosen. In Figure 2, we see one of the twelve kinds of word puzzles, the "Word Ladder". Here, we have completed a ladder by changing the top word one letter at a time until we reach the bottom word. The "catch" is that each step must contain an acceptable English word. We immediately found a solution by noting that the instructions don't say that you cannot rearrange the letters from one step to the next. It only says that you must change one, and only one letter. However, in Figure 2, we present the more difficult solution where the letters are not re-arranged. We suppose that if you were a so-called genius who wants to solve the ladder as fast as possible, you would note the omission in the rules of the game and choose the easy way. It doesn't matter; it is an interesting puzzle and no clock is ticking.

	Figure 3. One of the Unconventional Mazes in Mensa Mind Teasers.
Click on the thumbnail for full image. (61K)

In Figure 3, we see one of the many interesting, even kooky mazes. There are categories such as Mayan, Celtic, Future, etc. Anyone can solve a maze if not in a hurry. However the mazes include a clock that speaks aloud at various intervals. These announcements will annoy adults, but kids seem to thrive on them. If the mazes are too small on your screen or seem too much trouble, there is an options menu to select the level of detail you want to see.

As you can tell, we enjoyed Mensa Mind Teasers. Voyager has really gone all out to make it interesting and it is aimed at anyone 12 and older. Younger kids will enjoy some of the puzzles such as the mazes. Up until now, we have missed this kind of challenging software. We hope more will follow. We even enjoyed the option to choose a category of music to hear while playing. However, for the younger users, we suggest that Voyager do more to congratulate players when they solve a puzzle. However, in Voyager's defense, we did note that it would be quite difficult for the program to be sure that the word ladder solution was correct.

Note: If you are really interested in contacting Mensa International (a society for geniuses), there is a database of information, and the test option is meant to give you a rough idea if you are good at puzzle solving. This skill is part of typical Mensa tests.