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Widgit's philosophy has been "education by stealth"; rarely do you find up-front counting and spelling. Adventure Playground is no exception. It's a series of games which combine the skills found in the best arcade games (like reacting to a visual prompt) with the planning, patience and short-term recall required for adventures, and a liberal reinforcement of sets based on colour, shape and sequencing.

Utilising stunning story-book graphics, The Crooked Adventure; based on the Crooked Man rhyme, requires your child to navigate the man through the story of the rhyme. The child has to solve a puzzle to make a move, and the puzzles just happen to be educational! Clever input routines mean that the whole thing can be "driven" by pressing any key, so it's good for younger users. Sound is good too, though severe loading problems were experienced.

Side two features a simplified graphic adventure which has most of the features of the real thing, like genuine frustration at not having what you need to proceed. The Queen of Hearts is beautifully realised.

Together with its colour manual and careful structure, Adventure Playground is streets ahead in terms of value.

D.M.