There are still only a few games books around for the MSX range compared to the number available for owners of many other micros, and of those that do exist too few could be classed as really good.

Unfortunately, this book from Virgin does nothing to change the status quo. It is a collection of 23 games in the standard format of a very brief introduction to each game, followed simply by the listing and some pretty pictures.

The games themselves are a hoary old collection that almost everyone must have seen before by now, such as Hangman, Calendar, Nim, Noughts and Crosses and so on. There are a few graphics programs which play about with the MSX graphics capabilities a bit, but on the whole this is a very tired selection.

On the plus side, the book is nicely produced, with clear listings, an attractive layout and some appealing illustrations. However, some screen shots would have been more useful than the pretty sketches which are purely decorative, and some more original games would have been better still. It is a pity that the publishers did not put as much thought into the content as they did into the wrapping.

The amount of padding here is quite shameless; out of 124 pages the programs take up only 73 and that is including plenty of illustrations. The rest of the book is taken up with a five page section on how to write better programs (which could actually have been fuller and more useful); a 14-page glossary, and a bibliography describing a seemingly random selection of books that have little connection with either MSX or games programming (for example, Apple II Basic!). It's a pity that not more of the space was used to supply hints on aspects such as varying or improving the games, or explaining useful routines and how they work.

The listings are short and simple - on average between one and three pages - so they would be suitable for a complete beginner to key in without too many problems, and the instructions, although bare, are adequate.

If you have just bought an MSX machine, are a complete beginner and just want to make your micro do something, then you might feel this book was worth its £2.99. But there are better buys around and I would advise you to spend your money more wisely.