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Snakes alive! If it isn't that old boa bonce, Medusa, ravaging the kingdom of Morenor. She must be hissterical if she thinks Crown Prince Cirion is gonna stand for that load of adders: just 'cause her horde of demons and dragons have overthrown the land and left him a pauper doesn't mean he's finished.

All he has to do is make enough money to build a massive army then find five magic rings so he can summon Medusa and challenge her to a final, bloody battle for the kingdom... it seems like a good day for Cirion to have stayed in bed.

Alone on the plains of Morenor, with only a thousand monetary units for company, the task ahead seems awesome. But a crown prince has gotta do what a crown prince has gotta do, and standing around sulking does not win kingdoms.

Towns are scattered throughout Morenor (some more friendly than others) and it is in them that most money-making tasks are performed in an effort to win back your kingdom. A visit to the bank should get you started, as arranging a loan is a doddle - although you do have to pay it back within three months or people in the area will cease trading with you.

Also in towns are temples, stables, parks, pubs, jewellers, castles, and so on. And once you've secured a loan you could do worse than visit the local stable and buy a couple of wagons (complete with horses) to improve your commodity-carrying capabilities for trading between towns (Elite style). Popping into the pub is a good pastime if you feel lucky (well, do ya, punk?) 'cause there's always a game similar to Blackjack available and you may just come out with a profit (but I wouldn't bet on it).

If you've any money left from your town wanderings you might take a walk to the park to hire a soldier or two (try doing that in this country) to help protect you from attack by villains and thieves outside the town gates.

Travelling from town to town gives you an idea of market prices in each (the greater the distance between towns the greater the price difference of certain commodities). Also, some towns specialise in particular products, making them a snip for the travelling trader to buy and creating bigger profits when he sells them elsewhere.

Trading isn't the only way to make money: should you find one on your over-land travels, you can set up a mine (if you can afford the necessary equipment) and sell the excavated minerals. You can also look for treasure (again requiring expensive equipment) or, should you have a strong enough army, attack other armies and nick their booty.

Wanderings aren't restricted to land however, and, when you're rich enough, you can buy ships to travel to the many islands surroundings Morenor, perhaps indulging in a little piracy along the way.

All functions in Rings Of Medusa (recruiting and arming soldiers and sailors, fighting, buying and selling, mining for ore, and protecting recaptured towns) are detailed and require some strategic thought. Visual displays are neat, using nicely-drawn graphics and smooth (if limited) animation.

Actions are controlled using icons at the base of the screen, some of which are only available during suitable situations - there would be no point in being able to open a mine when at sea, for example.

Music plays continuously... until you switch it off, of course; which may be sooner than the composer might like. Oddly, there are no sound effects featured.

Professionally produced, the only real negative aspect of Rings Of Medusa is lastability; it's not exactly exciting to play and isn't suitable for long sessions. But if you tackle it in short bursts - taking it off the shelf every now and then to give it another go (it features a save game option) - your pointer shouldn't click on the Quit icon through boredom and you'll get more pleasure out of your battle with Medusa.