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Santa's got it all a bit wrong this year. Off he goes to deliver the Christmas presents to all the boys and girls. Trudge, trudge trudge. Down all the chimneys, into the grates, to give the gifts to all good children, which is strange because it's the middle of summer. And there isn't a reindeer in sight!

Perhaps it's something to do with the seasonal mix-up, but poor old Father Christmas is encountering all sorts of problems as he does his rounds. He must collect the presents from the fairy grotto and safely deliver the goodies without waking up the children. However, one of the houses he visits is rather odd to say the least. While the kiddies are tucked up snug in bed, the house comes to life. Everyday objects like coffee percolators and saucepans have taken on a life on their own and do their best to terrorise Santa. China wall ducks are suddenly animated and the wine cellar hosts all manner of nasty spooks who evidently have a predilection for homebrew.

Apart from these supernatural hassles, there's the more traditional problem of trying not to wake the wee ones from their slumbers. As every boy and girl knows, if they wake up while Father Christmas is doing his yearly round then they won't get any presents. Santa, therefore, has to creep around the house making sure the kiddies stay in the land of dreams. However, the grown-ups don't go to bed so early on Christmas Eve and Daddy's still pottering around in the living room, probably waiting for the yearly rehash of appalling black and white films to come on the television. Santa must sneak around him making sure he isn't spotted.

To add to his difficulties, Santa isn't terribly well organised this year. Without his trusty red nosed reindeers to help him, he can only carry one present at a time. So after each gift has been safely deposited in the correct stocking, he has to tramp back to the grotto to get the next one. Quite apart from that, the various sinister nasties in the house are far from harmless. If Santa brushes against these moving objects then he loses a life. He is kindly provided with five lives at the start of the game, but they are quickly lost as he tries to navigate the unfriendly welcome from the pet dogs on the roof and the rolling footballs in the bedroom.

There is one bonus in Santa's favour. He gets to drink an awful lot of sherry that people have left out for him the more he drinks the more points he gets. Father Christmas also gains points for every present safely delivered and a percentage of the game completed is shown at the bottom of the screen. There's a demo mode to show the player the bare ropes of the game, which also provides an opportunity to have a sneak peak at some of the locations.

Control keys: redefinable
Joystick: any
Keyboard play: average
Use of colour: poor
Graphics: uninspired
Sound: basic
Skill levels: one
Screens: lots