A two-player game, Slappit's a bit like football, but without the kicking. A large black sphere appears and then starts to move erratically, bouncing off the sides of the arena. You and your opponent each have an arrow which is used to control where you fire your balls in order to make the sphere ricochet into your opponent's goal.

Your arrows can be put at any angle around the sphere, and you must fire your own balls fast and furiously to win.

The limited supply of balls given to each player is replenished after a few seconds. You'll probably find yourself succumbing to a mad moments and releasing your whole stock by holding down the fire key, filling the entire arena with coloured balls.

Magnets and holes are among the obstacles, and at times control over the sphere seems impossible. A goal earns 500 points and three goals are needed to move to the next level.

One player mode is allowed but the action is not as gripping. Slappit is very similar to the BBC/Electron game, Ballistix, so loses something for originality. Yet the graphics and sound could be easily achieved on a Beeb, so unless you really want this type of game for the Archimedes you can pass this one by.

Brett Colley