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Macmillan has previously collaborated with Sinclair Research in a number of educational programs but the new range is produced on its own account.

Snapple Hopper and Tops And Tails are two packages aimed at the 4-8 year-old age range. Both are devised by Betty Root who is the 1985 President of the United Kingdom Reading Association.

The Sunflower Number Show is a game to practise mental arithmetic for all ages. All the programs are flexible in that there is a choice of speed and in the maths program a choice of difficulty.

Snapple Hopper contains two routines to practise the initial two letters of a word in a Snap game for one or two players, and a game to practise matching rhyming. Both can be played by one or two players.

Tops And Tails has a snakes and ladders game with players moving according to the numbers generated on a dice, and receiving extra points for recognising the first two letters of a word on a picture square.

The graphics in the games are well devised and the routines fun to play, at least for the younger members of the age range. Eight year olds may find it all rather unsophisticated. The only quibble I have is the price.