Before numbers, or anything else, make sense, children need to be able to explore and practise with basic concepts.

Here, Widgit offers a real learning opportunity for pre-school and primary age children.

In a series of four well presented maze games featuring animals, the child can practise counting, explore such concepts as up, down, left and right, and begin to develop the ability to plan moves in advance.

You may be tempted to ask why these are important. Try driving, playing chess, programming in Basic, using a map, or finding your way home without them!

Though the programs are largely in Basic, they are well written, colourful, attractive and make good use of sound.

Much more important in an educational sense, they are well structured and purposeful, providing useful experience in a way that would be difficult without a computer.

Well done, Widgit! A real application for a home computer, cleverly executed and which doesn't cost the earth.

D.M.