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Every once in a while, a software house produces something that is so outdated and run of the mill that you have to begin wondering why they considered bringing it out at all. Blue Ribbon has done this with Hi-Q-Quiz.

Basically a budget version of Trivial Pursuits - the board consists of a wheel with four spokes, around which each of the two to four players move. Each segment on the wheel and spokes bears a symbol which indicates the type of question that you must answer when you land on it. These are sport, sciences, history/art and natural history. The questions vary in difficulty from easy: What is the name given to a baby cat? To relatively hard: Where were the 1932 Olympics held?

I can only assume that the questions are randomly selected from the data files, which don't seem to be very large. The same questions keep turning up and the question about the venue of the 1960 Olympics has turned up in every game I've played.

There are four levels of play, the higher the one you select, the more questions you need to answer in order to win. The winner is the person who answers the required number of questions in each category and then returns to the centre and gives the correct answer to a randomly selected question.

The method of rolling the dice on screen involves hitting the spacebar to stop it moving. You then use the cursor keys to move your marker. You can setadevice to limit the time in which the questions must be answered. There are segments which, if you land on them, allow you to roll again.

There are differences between Hi-Q-Quiz and Trivial Pursuit, but not many. For instance, you cannot pass over a segment occupied by another player's market and you cannot pass through into the centre unless you roll the exact number needed, and even then you can only go there if you have answered enough questions to qualify for the final one.

The graphics give the impression of being squeezed up to make room for as many segments as possible and as such the display looks untidy and cluttered. The sound is minimal - the rolling die gives of a random toned chattering and you get one of two different noises depending on whether you get a question right or wrong. Other than that, there is a little jingle at the end when the game declares the winner.

The game is fairly cheap, takes just a few minutes to load in by tape and occasionally comes out with some tough questions. It is simple to play and contains elements that would make it a fairly nice piece of educational software for the young. However, as a quiz for those with a high IQ, it fails badly and would only just make a passable magazine listing game. There isn't even a facility for entering players' names. I can think of much better ways of spending three quid.

Desmond