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A marvellous game. One that deserves to have many imitators and I for one, hope that it spawns a whole generation of clones. 'Kriegspiel' is German for 'wargames', and that is precisely what this is. If you've ever wondered why all over the civilized world men of advanced years meet regularly to shuffle lead soldiers about a table, this game will explain all.

The strategic side of Kriegspiel is fascinating. It's not the sort of game you master in five minutes. The cassette wrapper folds out into ten pages of detailed instructions and you need to read and master the lot before you begin playing. But it's worth the effort.

The basic aim is to get your heavy and light tanks and your infantry to march across a large map, crossing rivers on the way, and invade the enemy headquarters.

The map is splendidly drawn and you have a choice of three kinds of terrain to fight over.

The whole map is divided into hexagons and whenever your piece moves next to an enemy piece combat occurs. The computer takes over and decides who wins, based on some complicated weighing of attack and defence factors, plus the roll of a dice.

Each type of piece is allocated a number of movement factors and a number of attack factors. The weather takes a hand too, since bad weather restricts movement. Your movement factors are also used up more by different kinds of terrain.

Planning a successful war strategy requires knowledge and skill. It's a great two-player game. The computer's general needs early retirement. I decimated his forces in my first campaign, but playing another thinking player would have been a great test.