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Having never before tried a war game (is this the right term?) it was with some trepidation and not a little interest that I loaded Johnny Reb. However I think I could quite easily get addicted now!

The object is to select an army of your own devising and, by out-manoeuvring a second player, or the Electron, capture the enemy army's flag a predetermined number of times. The scenario is a confrontation at a river crossing during the American Civil War. The program, which is recorded on both sides of the cassette, loads in two parts. The first plays 'Dixie', displays the Confederate flag and loads in the main program.

You are then given various options - one or two player game, whether you want to be the Johnny Rebs or the Bluebellies, what units you want in your army, if you want a time limit and if so, what? You can choose to play a friend or, by choosing the one player option, the computer. Your army can consist of up to twenty units of each of cavalry, infantry or artillery. If you are playing the computer it can choose a force numerically equal to yours but not necessarily consisting of the same number in each unit.

When you have made your choices, the battleground is displayed. This display and the placement of troops on it, is random. But I noticed a tendency for the Electron's army to keep being slightly more favourably placed than mine!

Each army in turn makes a move for each of its pieces. After one complete move by each army, the battleground is scanned and updated. The first army to capture the enemy army's flag a certain number of times - or alternatively to destroy the enemy - wins.

So what is it like to play? Well, it's like playing a cross between toy soldiers and chess. If it seems that the enemy will get you, you can always give them a blast from a cannon.

I found I liked to play with the maximum number of pieces (60), without a time limit.

If you are called down for tea there is a save-game facility. Enclosed with the program is a cassette-sized leaflet containing seven pages of rules. But I found the program very user-friendly, causing only occasional reference to the instructions.

Some things I didn't like. My major complaint is that the more I played it, the slower it seemed to get. After completely exterminating the enemy army (my one and only time) it took about half a minute while the computer scanned the enemy battlefield for troops and then again for score-checks for it to announce that I had won.

Another thing that I'd like to see changed is the method of calling the save game routine. I found myself calling it up several times by inputting "S" (Save) when I had meant to input "M" (Move), RETURN, "S" (South). Perhaps if you had to type in SAVE this problem wouldn't arise. The error-trapping on the BREAK key didn't seem to be quite right, but that probably serves me right for messing about with it.

Overall, a little on the slow side. Nevertheless it's a compulsive game that will keep your interest longer than the average arcade game. And it will still be going strong when you have solved that latest adventure. Good value for money.

Merlin