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Let's all go down the pub - 'ave a banana, Ow's the missus? Roll out the barrel... 'ere we are guvnor, down at the old rub a dub dub, for a nice night out quaffing the Old Flatulence bitter while having a good round of arrows. Ow about a luvverly game of Bar Billiards? What d'ya fancy? Well, take yer pick - got the lot 'ere, all you could want for a free night out with the lads. Mag-nif-icent! Tell ya wot, let's start off with a baht of arrer chucking...

Take to the Oche for a 501 or 301 round; selected by pressing the trusty fl key. The screen shows your view of the pub wall, ornately decorated with traditional wallpaper. Looks like you've been quaffing a mite too many... your view is a particularly wobbly one! As you try desperately to steady yourself, you must aim the disembodied hand at the board. When you are happy with the throwing position, press fire to release the dart and watch it glide through the air and land, plunk, in the board. Darts fall to the ground if they hit the wire.

Once you've completed the darts, have a quick slurp, and onto the...

Played with eight balls, one of which is red and the rest white; the aim of the game is to sink balls into holes in the table. Each hole has a points value, ranging from ten to two hundred - the red ball score double. To make a shot, you have to select the position from which the ball is to be hit, than the strength of the hit, and finally, the angle.

Sit back and watch it wind its merry way up the table. Knocking down a white mushroom on the table ends a break and costs you the points collected, but felling the black mushroom removes you total score so far. After ten minutes, balls are not returned to play after they've been potted.

There's money to be made in this game, yes a pound for the winner of each of the three rounds? Don't get too excited though, Alligata don't really cough up. Following league rules, the aim is to place all your dominoes on the table, taking it in turns to add dominoes to the line building up, Pressing fire reveals the dominoes in your hand, so your opponent will have to turn away while you have a look. No cheating here folks.

Once you have selected the domino you wish to play, then you can manoeuvre it around the board, rotating it as you like. Best of three games decides the winner.

This is played on a traditional table which is viewed from above. The objective is to score more goals than your opponent. Moving the joystick up or down moves the players nearest to the ball up or down, To kick the ball, you simply move the joystick left or right. Nine footballs are provided per game and a pound goes to the winner of each game.

More money is involved, but from here on you're probably going to lose ft. In pontoon, the aim is to make up a hand of cards with a pip value of twenty one, or at least get closer to twenty one than anyone else playing. After your second card has been dealt you can stick, twist (get a card for free but everyone sees it) or buy (pay money to receive a card face down). Wimping out isn't allowed - you can't stick below sixteen. Each player plays ten consecutive hands and can bet between one pound and a fiver.

Yap, another money down the drain game. Playing a five card game you get one chance to change up to five cards and then the betting begins. Usual poker rules apply, with full houses, flushes and runs all appearing...

Nice destructive game, skittles - after losing your loot at cards you get the chance to work out some physical aggression by knocking over everything in view. With ball in hand, try to align it with the skittles, then roll it down the alley and kerreack, knock 'em all over - or maybe not. Never mind, it's still ten points for every skittle that's sent down the hole and best of five games decides who wins the pound prize.

I am really in two minds about this. On the one hand, the games are quite fun and well thought out, but then again there doesn't really seem all that much to them. Darts began as quite fun, but it wasn't long before it became too long and drawn out seeming to go on for ever. Surprisingly, I think I enjoyed the dominoes games best of all. Dunno why, just appealed to me. But I wouldn't pay ten quid for it.

This was fun for a short while but I found all seven 'events' lacked that certain something to keep me coming back for more. There are some uncomfortable delays throughout, mainly when scores are announced, and some of the games prove quite tedious to play, especially the darts which I found to be the most frustrating game of the lot ('hitting the wire' was a common occurrence when going for doubles or trebles, resulting in one very irate Penn). Pub Games is basically a collection of barely average budget games, so for ten quid it represents reasonable value for money.

Presentation 83%
Adequate in-game presentation - although there are often some annoying delays - and a neat loading system (when it works).

Graphics 53%
On the whole, lacklustre.

Sound 58%
A couple of simple but suitable jingles.

Hookability 60%
Some initial urge to do well at all events.

Lastability 52%
One or two events might prove compelling - but not much.

Value For Money 60%
Seven reasonable games for a tenner.

Overall 59%
An unusual approach to the sports simulation theme which doesn't quite work.