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Bridging the Gap is a freeware game in which you play the role of bridge designer. It was created by Mark Leppen and Erik Leppen. I couldn't find much information about it on the web so, as I have enjoyed the game so much, I thought I should provide some.

Each of the game's fifty levels provides one or more rivers or abysses which must be spanned. Bridges are created using simple objects: joints and members.

A joint is, in the game, simply a point in space to which members may be attached. It acts as a pivot - members may rotate with joints as their axes. Joints added by the player move through space unless supported. Each level has several fixed joints, however - these do not move so may be used as support.

A member is a rigid beam which should be attached to a joint at each end. Members have mass and break under excess compression or tension. When building a bridge, there must be a sequence of members arranged horizontally from one 'bank' to the other. This sequence is assumed to have track laid upon it.

Designs are tested using a simulation of a train passing over the track. Different levels use different train lengths, weights and speeds.

Points (in the form of virtual money) are awarded based on how many members are used to construct the bridge; the fewer the members, the greater the sum awarded. This means that each level provides two main challenges: Getting the train across the gap and doing so as efficiently as possible.

The game does not allow saving bridge designs - it only saves a score table for each player. For those who are stuck and would like to see solutions, I have sketched my designs for the bridges I have completed. Remember that these are not necessarily optimal solutions, only the best I have managed so far.