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'Physics is Fun' was the title of my textbook at school, but I never believed it. Until I met Boulder Dash, and the mysteries of gravity were revealed to me in all their resplendent glory.

This game is so addictive that if it were sold on the streets angry parents would petition Parliament to have it banned. Work ceased in the PCG offices while hacks queued up to get their dose of frantic gameplay. Busy reviewers dropped everything to devote themselves to cracking just one of Boulder Dash's sixteen different stages. Hours later they were dragged away from the screen, weeping from the frustration of failure.

Looking at a screen shot you might wonder what all this fuss is about. Looks a bit like Dig Dug with lots more boulders. And the object of the game is similar -dig away and collect the jewels from a series of caves. But the execution of the game and its variety make it infinitely more enjoyable and thrilling.

For a start, there are all those rocks. They behave in what, at first, seem very strange ways and deaths come thick and fast. But soon Rockford - the cute little figure you guide - figures out what's happening. If he removes the ground from under a pile of rocks, then they're going to come tumbling down.

Rockford, his foot tapping impatiently when he's waiting, zips around the screen with great agility. He needs to be quick to stay alive: he can support a pile of boulders, but as soon as he moves, they fall and he's got to clear out pronto.

All the caves are the size of several screens and are viewed through a smooth-scrolling 'window'. In each cave, Rockford has to collect a certain number of diamonds, at which point a secret door is revealed and he can exit to the next cave.

One excellent point is that you can begin with any of four different caves - this allows you to see a lot more of the game a lot sooner!

The first of the sixteen caves is the easiest - but still difficult enough to get you hooked. Here you have the leisure to experiment and get the feel of Boulder Dash's physics - usually a rock on your head.

Cave B is a little more sophisticated. The diamonds are in rooms and Rockford has to move boulders to get at each one.

Cave C is the first of the fiendishly difficult screens. Rockford is in a maze. Lots of boulders, lots of little walls, lots of diamonds. He has to get all the diamonds to exit and now he realises how important the time limit is.

Further screens introduce deadlier opponents than the boulders - fireflies and butterflies. The fireflies guard jewels and are extremely vicious, giving Rockford little chance to escape. Fortunately, they are also pretty stupid and Rockford can generally work out a plan to bamboozle them.

Cave E is a good example of how to dupe a firefly. Each of the eight diamonds is in a room and guarded by a buzzing firefly.

You must tunnel along to the first room and break in when the firefly is at the far side. Retreat, move up, and enter the room from above to get the diamond. The firefly will have followed you, but you have a head start and should be able to get diamonds from the top four rooms and make it to the exit without being caught.

On other screens, such as Apocalypse (cave M), you will work out what to do, but have great difficulty doing it. Here two walls of boulders at the bottom of the screen enclose a swarm of butterflies. At the top of the screen is the amoeba, a throbbing green mass which expands remorselessly.

Rockford's task is to release the butterflies so that they come into contact with the amoeba and explode, turning into jewels to be gathered.

To do this, he must tunnel down from the amoeba, taking care not to block the path with falling rocks, and reach a position just to the bottom right of the row of boulders guarding the butterflies. To release them, go hard left, allowing the boulders to drop down. The butterflies will now follow the same path he took and make for the amoeba, where their transformation will take place.

When you consider that Boulder Dash has sixteen stages, most of them as fiendish as the one just described, and five difficulty levels, you'll understand why it's our Game of the Month.

The graphics, despite being slick and smooth, are not going to win any prizes, but the sound is pleasant with the diamonds twinkling nicely as they fall and the boulders making horrific crashes.

Anyway, graphics are not what this game is about. Absolutely compulsive gameplay is what lifts Boulder Dash to awesome heights.

I defy anyone to play it without becoming hopelessly addicted.

Sensational. More than any other game this year, it forces you irresistibly back to the keyboard.

Somehow, the American programmer Chris Gray has discovered a new combination of features which, added together, produce absolutely outstanding gameplay.

Even without the amoeba, fireflies and butterflies, the game would be great, but with these included it's also incredibly exciting. Trying to block the amoeba or outwit the fireflies inside the time-limit will set your heart pounding.

The thing I like most is that it is not just mindless running about. In order to retrieve all the jewels you have to think carefully which route to take, otherwise you'll be trapped.

The graphics are fairly simple - each screen is predominantly one colour, but the scrolling is superb, not a jitter or flicker to be seen anywhere.

I was impressed by the animation of Rockford, blinking realistically and, if left unmoved for a few seconds, folding his arms and impatiently tapping his foot!

This game is a new classic in the class of Q*Bert, Kong and Pac-Man.

That may sound pretentious, but believe me, this game really does have something special. It's original, extremely challenging, and monstrously addictive.

I particularly liked the way the boulders pounded down on top of each other, and the gentle tinkling sound that meant there were unimaginable riches there, just for the taking.