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This colourful Computertutor program, for use by parent and child, contains five games with machine code animation and lively graphics to encourage shape recognition.

My queries would be the inclusion of names in Shapemaker. After inputting up to 10 sides the computer draws the shape on screen with its name - three-year-olds knowing nonagons?! -and Pattern Maker has shapes which can be moved by using cursor keys - why?

That aside, it's a pretty program which would entrance three-year-olds with its use of graphics, animation and sound. After using this, they ought to recognise triangles, circles, diamonds, squares and oblongs. Superb horizontal scrolling "turns" the pages and the Index gives choice of games, each having simple instructions.

Shapesorter has small shapes appearing in a box which must be given a name - correct answers cause Clever Clogs to smile with a pleasant tune, but wrong ones make him grimace.

Shipshapes is a game where a helicopter flying over a ship can be made to drop various shapes, depending upon which keys are pressed, on to a ship before it sails.

T.W.