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I consulted the ship's display. The lookout had just sighted a warship. Should I be bold and order fully-fledged aggression? Or was a cautious retreat to replenish supplies at Port Casablanca to be the order of the day?

I reflected on my previous battle. I had captured 3,000 gold pieces from a galleon but at the cost of many damage points to the ship and several of my crew. Had it been worth it?

That could be described as the main course of the bill of fare served up by Plunder (Strategy Games). The scenario takes us back to 1587 where the Spaniards are shipping gold from America to finance the preparation of the Armada. Your ship must intercept and force them to surrender their gold.

The main display consists of a neat but rather simple map of the Atlantic. Your ship sails on in changing weather until it locates an enemy. If you decide to attack, the screen displays both ships close up and the battle begins.

This is the most disappointing part of the game. The ammuni tion fired by each ship is invisible and the player has no control over the battle except to decide whether or not to board the enemy.

If your ship is the worse for wear you can steer it into port for repairs, but this costs you hard-earned gold.

The graphics are hardly going to set the world alight but any such offering in this type of game is something of a bonus. The sound is disappointing.

My overall impression is that it is interesting idea which could have been executed better. See it for yourself before you buy.

Dave Reeder