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Sub-booo-te-oh! What a brill game, eh? Many were the days I was huddled over the green felt pitch flicking little plastic figures around, trying to knock a small plastic sphere into the back of a net. Ah, bliss...

Well, those days are back in digital glory with the computer versions of this classic game. Subbuteo the Computer Game is played in the same fashion as the table-top version. You can select which player to use, where to flick him how much power you should use, in which direction and so forth.

Before you kick off you can select whether to play a one-on-one match or a full league with up to eight separate players. You can then select team colours and names then it's time to get started. In the 16-bit versions, the pitch is viewed in 3D, so you can spin the playfield to check the direction of your next shot before making it.

If a foul or similar breach of the rules is made, you can refer to the built-in rule book, which states what you have done wrong and how to avoid doing it again.

My first reaction to a conversion of Subbuteo was, and still is, why? Aprt from the computer opponent, the game is the same, and to my mind it was the interaction between real people that accounted for a good deal of the board game's appeal.

The computer version is well presented, and follows the FISA Subbuteo rule book to the letter - any wrong move is instantly picked up by the computer ref. The graphics are very nice, and perform their function well, but sound is sparse with the exception of a jolly title theme.

The gameplay is quite slow in comparison with the table-top version, so unfortunately you can find yourself getting bored with it quite rapidly. To be frank, Subbuteo is a bit of a loss, not because it's badly put together (in fact the opposite is true) but because you could go out and buy the real thing for less, and have a heck of a lot more fun.