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There are few subjects which crop up in conversation more than computers. But one that perhaps does appear just as regularly is royalty in all its forms - people have been fascinated by kings and queens for centuries.

Author Anthony Holden has collected a vast number of facts, both trivial and vital, about royal persons from earliest times to modern day. These are presented as a series of 30 tests, grouped loosely by subjects as diverse as "The Kings Musick" and "1066 and all that", and as intriguing as "The Bad..." and "Verse and Worse".

The difficulty of the questions varies a great deal, but I am sure very few people would score highly at first. It is possible to answer individually or to have two teams competing. One drawback, of course, is that by loading the data from cassette it is accessed serially. This can be frustrating.

An introductory passage introduces each test, after which the question is posed. The author's answer is then shown so that marks may be awarded and entered. This obviously is to prevent an answer such as "Duke of Edinburgh" being disallowed if the built-in answer was "Prince Philip".

I found this program quite fascinating, addictive and educational. It is also a welcome antidote to zapping aliens.

Phil Tayler