Mr. T Tells The Time is one of six titles in the "Good Housekeeping" software range. It comes in an impressive-looking plastic wallet with a good-looking parents' handbook. It has the added distinction of being the only cassette ever to refuse to load on my recorder/computer combination. It proved to be very temperamental on a number of combinations, but eventually it was loaded.

There are three programs on the cassette: one on side one, and the other two on side two. Loading takes quite a time, with one program acting as a loader for a second.

Before playing any of the games, the parent can set a number of parameters using the parent screen. The degree of difficulty, sound or silence, colour or monochrome, and who varies the degree of difficulty - Mr. T or the parent - are all user selectable.

Side one starts with a demonstration of a working clock. A clock face is drawn on the screen and the hands move to show the passing of time. The clock chimes on the hours, which only take a few seconds to pass, and continues until the space bar is pressed. This leads to the main activity on the first side, Matching Hours. Two clock faces are shown on the screen; one has its time fixed and the other varies. When the two faces show the same time the user presses the space bar. The game is played at three levels: firstly, the fixed clock cycles through the hours sequentially, secondly it sets times at random, and finally it adds half and quarter hours.

The second side of the cassette contains two games that also have three sections. Clock Numbers shows a clock face with missing numbers. These are situated on the right hand side of the screen, and when Mr. T points to the right one for a particular place, a press on the space bar moves the number to its correct location. The three sections increase in difficulty by not going sequentially through the empty places, and finally by taking out all the numbers.

The final game is called O'clock, and an amount of preparation is recommended in the parents' guide. A clock face is shown, and below it the time in words. As the hands on the clock move round, so the words change to indicate the time. The game itself starts in the words below the clock change. When the correct words are displayed the space bar is pressed. In part thre, the words stay fixed while the clock face changes.

The individual programs show a number of good features. Sound and graphics, though basic, are used effectively. A symbol showing a hand with a finger pointing at a bar is a much better way of indicating the expectation of a press on the space bar than the usual 'press space to continue'. The visual incentives given in the games had both my five year old son and my wide in fits of laughter. The use of a parent screen is very good, the level of difficulty reflected in the speed of the game.

If any criticism can be levelled at this product, it is that with the exception of one part of game one, only the exact hours are used. The extension to quarter and half hours, an everything in between is so important that its omission is puzzling.