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The successful adult board game has now spawned A Question Of Scruples - The Computer Edition.

The program supports between three and ten players, any of which may be computer-controlled. Each participant has a different character make-up: human players select their own personal characteristics while computer players have pre-determined personalities.

A face is chosen from a scrolling catalogue of mugshots, and selected visages appear at the top of the screen to signify the character in play.

To start, each player is dealt from three to five 'dilemma' cards, and a single answer card, responses on which are limited to 'yes', 'no' and 'depends'. The objective is to get rid of dilemma cards by selecting an opponent to ask the question on the card. If their answer and the asking player's answer card match, the dilemma and answer card are discarded and a new answer card dealt. The main strategy is therefore to choose the person most likely to give the desired answer for the chosen dilemma card, based on their personality traits.

If the answers don't match, the opposing player is challenged, whereby the remaining players (both human and computer) vote on whether the answer given is true to the character or not. The winner of the challenge gives one of the dilemma cards to the losing party and the game continues in this fashion until one player has been relieved of all their dilemma cards.

The value of converting board games to computer format is debatable: what you gain in options you lose in atmosphere. Particularly with Scruples, the atmosphere relies on who your opponent is (and knowing their character), and the multitude of varied responses that can be given to any one occasion.

The board game is basically a set of cards which initiate occasionally furious debate: the computer game lacks this passion simply because you can't relate to a line drawing and a bar chart in the same way you can to a human opponent.

The option to play with a number of friends makes up for this in a small way, but even so, you only have limited potential responses, and so it all becomes predictable.

All the moral dilemmas of the original are there, but the game's potential remains untapped.

I'd have thought the original idea of the Scruples board game was to provoke discussion amongst a group of friends, and perhaps to reveal previously unrealised personality traits to the other players.

This social element is completely lost in the computer interpretation, with any debate being limited to a choice of four terse statements. The game is well produced, but this shortcoming just killed it for me.

Presentation 86%
Good instructions and packaging, and great on-screen presentation.

Graphics 63%
Plain cards, with average faces and animation.

Sound 18%
Droning title tune and simple, ill-suited effects.

Hookability 44%
Slightly confusing at first, and severely lacking action in the single player mode.

Lastability 40%
The 230 questions and 2,750 answers should keep the game relatively fresh for a while - if you can be bothered to play.

Overall 41%
A disastrous single player game, only mildly reprieved in its multi-player mode. The real board game costs about the same as the cassette version!