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"No child is going to sit at a computer playing with Dragon World and come away better educated because of what he/she has seen on the screen. Dragon World was not designed to teach children anything. Its purpose was to provide a gateway to another world, a world in which children would be stimulated and motivated to ask questions, find answers, discuss issues, keep records and use their imaginations to make that world their own world. Above all, its purpose was to give teachers an opportunity to make the classroom a good place to be in."

4Mation is the company behind Flowers Of Crystal, which was judged to be the educational program for 1984 - "original, very well presented, marvellously adaptable and unique in its scope" (Educational Computing, January 1985). So how does their latest offering compare?

Open the package and you are immediately confronted by a veritable box of delights: a disc/cassette containing a two-part adventure and four supplementary programs; three booklets - the Story of Dragon World, the Book of Ideas and the Users' Manual; a cassette containing the audio story of Dragon World and original Dragon World music; a dragon template and instruction sheer; "Town of Treasures" record sheets; and last, but by no means least for the concept keyboard enthusiasts, an A4 overlay for the main program - and all for £16.000 (cassette) or £17.65 (disc)!

The story begins: "A long, long place ago, in a faraway time, somewhere beyond the magic tree in Granny's garden" (Mike Matson devotees will recognise this as a reference to his first adventure program for top infants/young juniors) "there lived a race of dragons who had everything any dragon could ever have wanted - plenty to eat, drink, happiness, good health, good friends and an everlasting supply of free firelighters!" But disaster struck; there was a squabble which turned into a fight, a fight that turned into a battle, and a battle that turned into a way, and within a very short time, most of the land was ablaze... Where have I heard that sort of story before?

For most of the dragons, there was nothing for it but to unfurl their powerful wings, and fly away in search of another home on another planet. Just a few dragons stayed on Earth. They made their way to a secret pathway through a frightening cave deep in the Earth's centre. As they made their way through the flames to the cave, they each took with them something precious, a treasure to keep safe from the fire.

And the cause of the squabble... well, I mustn't spoil your pleasure of reading the book which sets the scene for Dragon World, or better still, listening to the delightful version provided on one side of the audio cassette: no doubt most users will want to do both. This is a very pleasing touch - I doubt that many teachers could present the story as well - and it'll certainly give both teachers and children an excellent example of just one use of the Dragon World music provided on the other side of the cassette, or that composed by the children themselves using the synthesiser program - but more of that later.

The objective in the first part of the adventure is to arrive in Dragon World having found the five magical teeth of Bewgo. In order to achieve this, the adventurers have to listen to tunes played on the dragon's teeth, find answers to a number of riddles, discover the dragon's egg (some quite subtle clues here), feed the baby dragon, and solve the problems lurking behind three windows - walls, sorcerers and a randomly-drawn path through a pitch dark cave.

If all goes well, the adventurers arrive in Dragon World and, assuming all five magical teeth have been found, are given the password necessary to commence Part 2. If all five teeth have not been found, which is unlikely the first time, a clue is given concerning the whereabouts of one of the teeth.

In order to reach the Town of Treasures in Part 2, the adventurers have to successfully undertake several more challenges: musical teeth and dragon feeding again, a route across Bewgo's stream using the stepping stones - beware of the crocodiles and a maze of no return.

The Town of Treasures holds five treasures in the four territories to be explored: the flats, the tree (subdivided into two areas - branches and roots), the pond and the road. Each of the animals, which were found in Part 1, is able to help in one of the territories.

Once five treasures have been collected, they may be offered to the dragons but there is no obligation to do so. If a sixth treasure is found and is to be kept then one of the first five treasures must be discarded. When five treasures are given to the dragons, the finder is informed how many of the dragons are pleased with their gifts. Beware, there are dangers lurking...! Not too much given away, I hope - just enough to tempt you.

"This is not the Guru's Guide to using Dragon World in the classroom. It is no more than a list of possibilities... The suggestions exist to be used, rejected or give 'food for thought'.

Ideas for activities away from the computer ranging from Art to Logic, Dance/Drama to Language, and Maths to Science abound, and should encourage teachers to use their imagination and "have a go". Lists of suitable books and music are included together with notes on the ten pieces of music to be found on the audio cassette. The last item should inspire some really lively dance/drama and I hope encourage some youngsters to try out their own musical talents on the synthesiser. Teachers will find this a treasure trove of ideas of use beyond Dragon World.

The four additional programs were designed to complement the main adventure and might be used in preparation for or follow-up to the main program. The first three really are very useful programs in their own right, and will be suitable for use with children of a wide age/ability range.

1. Dragon Music
   converts the computer into a music synthesiser allowing the child to play the dragon's teeth. Keys S to K and Z to M become a two octave keyboard; pressing TAB permits the keys to cycle through three octaves; and keys 1 to 5 change the "voice" to allow different sound qualities and effects. Very pleasing sound effects can be achieved.
   
   The recording option permits a maximum of 128 single notes to be recorded, which is somewhat limiting compared with the playing option. Nevertheless, if a really exciting piece containing lots of chords has been composed, it can always be recorded on an audio tape instead of through the computer.
2. Riddle Solver
   allows the children to ask a dragon a riddle of their own - in similar format to those used in part two of the adventure to locate the treasures. The words common to all riddles are written on the screen and it is necessary to type in no more than the riddle words. When the riddle is completed, the answer will be given.
   
   If the riddle is complex, i.e. there is more than one possible riddle letter in the line, then all the possible answers will be shown as long as the number of possibilities is not too ridiculous. If a printer is connected, it is possible to print the riddles and their answers.
3. Mazes
   This permits the children to practise the negotiation of mazes before or after attempting the adventure. They are drawn at random by the computer - each one only had one correct route. Movement through the maze is achieved by using the four cursor keys. Disc users can dump a maze to a printer if they have a machine code Mode 7 graphics dump, eg. Printmaster.
4. The Riddle
   This utility allows the riddles, which feature in Part 2 of the adventure, to be seen and printed out. This will save valuable computer time if used them before running the adventure.

"Dragon World was produced with the school in mind... It should not be assumed that the authors of the material believe its use should be restricted to schools... In some ways the parents can make far more use of Dragon World than the teacher who has to be in thirty different places doing thirty different things at the same time." (Only 30?)

"You are able to enter the fantasy world, along with your child and, even when you are taking a Sunday stroll, you can help to look for secret caves in the park, spot wisps of dragon breath in the sky, hunt for solitary trees standing guard over the treasures concealed beneath their roots and, perhaps, listen for Bewgo tunes played by ice cream vans."

Hopefully, this article will have encouraged you to visit Dragon World with your youngster. If not, I'm sure the program will spark off the sort of classroom project that even the most reticent children will have difficulty in keeping to themselves. Do turn off the TV and share their enthusiasm and excitement.

"On its own, Dragon World can do nothing. The most important element in the whole package is absent - you must provide yourself. If you can become a visitor to Dragon World, dive in the murky pond to look for hidden treasure, cook a meal for a friendly dragon and jump on crocodiles disguised as stepping tones, there is every chance that you children will follow you!"

Alice In Wonderland became a classic of its kind; Dragon World could, I suggest, become another. It must be a strong contender for the program of 1985! Well done, 4Mation - what next?