This game is practically unknown, at least the PC version. It was developed by Looking Glass Software (not identical with Looking Glass Studios, who developed Ultima Underworld and System Shock) for Bantam Software, mainly known for the two IF adventures they developed. It is metioned in the wikipedia article about Rube Goldberg, and you find it in the C64 Gamebase.

Creative Contraptions features whacky machines, the kind William Heath Robinson drew for the Professor Branestawm books. Unlike in later games like The Incredible Machine, you do not actually construct them, you just fit in some missing parts, or repair them. There are three game modes:

• Fill in Mechanisms is the easiest. There are only seven basic mechanisms, though they come in varieties in some puzzles. The screenshot above is a simple puzzle of this kind. You have to fill in B, D, and H.
• Fill in Zany Objects is more difficult, since there are more zany objects than mechanisms, and their function is less obvious. However, you only have to choose between two objects per location.
• Contraption Mix Up is probably the most difficult. You get a complete machine, but will have to change a few zany objects and/or mechanisms to make it work.

The difficulty level is generally very low, since the game was obviously aimed at smaller children. It had a good interface (Enter places, Space starts the contraption, Esc goes up one level) and its own clock, so it will run correctly even on the fastest computers. It is little more than a curiosity now, but it can be seen as the ancestor of the (far better) Incredible Machine, and would deserve a remake as a kids' game.