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Almost all readers will be familiar with weird Q*Bert and his gymnastic leaping around a pyramid. Q*Bert is a one or two player game with only joystick control.

The game starts with three Q*Berts, the first appearing on the topmost cube and the remaining number of lives in shown to the right of the pyramid.

The object is to hop Q*Bert onto every cube, so that eventually the entire pyramid becomes the colour indicated to the left of the pyramid. Care is needed not to hop him off the sides or off the bottom row of cubes.

So far, this sounds an easy exercise, but when the other characters and objects become involved, things get distinctly trickier. The Red Ball rolls around, threatening to squash Q*Bert, while the Purple Ball hatches Coily the snake.

Q*Bert can exit by boarding the nearest flying disc via the exit cube. The placement of the flying disc is again dependent on the level and round of the game, so watch where you try to board, or it's over the edge.

Other characters in play are Ugg and Wrongway, who appear on the lower portion of the pyramid, travelling sideways and upwards to leap on Q*Bert.

Slick and Sam aren't able to catch Q*Bert but have the ability to change the cubes' colours, so unless Q*Bert stops them by direct contact, he has to retrace his moves to alter the colours already made by his moves.

The Green Ball can't catch Q*Bert either, but if Q*Bert makes contact with the Green Ball, all the characters except Q*Bert freeze momentarily and you are able to score bonus points.

Excellent documentation ensures that, whether you are an arcade genius or an absolute notice, you can get started quickly. Although Q*Bert has been with us for some time, his endearing expletives - @!?!! - and nervous movements will make him an evergreen favourite. Certainly a game for all.