A title like Q* Bert is weird - it doesn't mean anything, and fails to suggest aliens or magic kingdoms, or any sort of stuff we're used to. So, what's it all about? The big clue is that the first syllable is 'cube'. Imagine a pyramid made of cubes, where each horizontal face of a cube has two adjacent sides being the bottom of a step up, and the other two being the front edge of a step down. If that addles your brain, you'll find a diagram on the cassette cover.

When Q Bert comes up on the screen - it is an elegant piece of graphics - one face of this pyramid floating in black space. As Q Bert (a character unfortunately too small to take on much character) you must step from cube to cube, thus having four choices of movement.

Every cube you step on changes colour, and the object is to colour the whole pyramid. It's easy to step off the pyramid and fall away, but the real danger is to step on the snake. The snake starts at the top of the pyramid, and does a rapid random crawl to the bottom, when it reappears at the top, and the cycle starts again. Falling off the pyramid or meeting the snake loses one of your three lives.

Two spinning discs floating adjacent to the pyramid can be stepped upon to lure the snake away, and take you to the top of the pyramid.

The whole game is very cerebral, and it can whip up the same sort of frenzied addiction Rubik's cube used to do. Alternatively, it can drive you mad. The whole thing happens very fast, and the snappy rhythm of the sound effects is hyponotic

This is a simple. elegant mind game that's made exciting by its speed. It could lose you friends as you pass up their company for Q Bert's.

EF