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Somewhere, in a far distant galaxy in the city of Ankh Morpork, lived a wizard called Rincewind. Fate had not been kind and he knew only one spell, and that, only because it had forced itself into his brain. To make matters even worse, Rincewind even has difficulty with that spell for it is one of the eight secret spells of the Octavo. In fact, the only redeeming quality that Rincewind possessed was his talent for languages.

As fate would have it, a tourist chances to enter the pub where Rincewind is not enjoying a mug of ale. On the verge of being robbed blind, our reluctant hero steps in and quickly finds himself acting as guide for the stranger Twoflower and his remarkable piece of luggage. A chest crafted of the most valuable wood, it moves of its own volition, carried on hundreds of little legs. If you also add the details that the entire world is being carried on the back of a giant turtle called A'Tuin (sex unknown), you quickly see that The Colour Of Magic is no ordinary adventure.

Based on the book of the same name of Terry Pratchett, The Colour Of Magic is a sort of Hitch-hikers' Guide To The Galaxy meets The Hobbit. The game has been written by Fergus McNeill, author of such spoof adventures as The Boggit and Bored Of The Rings.

The first problem in this four-part game is that you have precisely no idea of what it is that you are trying to do. Starting off in the pub, you quickly find yourself showing Twoflower a typical pub brawl and such wonderful sights as the temple, palace and whore pits where Twoflower produces a strange sort of camera device. An attempted act of kindness in giving some milk to a cat results in a little girl slapping you round the ace as she accuses you of trying to drown a very small moggy in a very large saucer of milk.

Another unusual feature of the game is the way you move about. Gone are the traditional N, S, E and W. Because you are in a slowly rotating disc world, you must come to terms with Rimwards, Hubwards, Widdershins and Turnwise.

A few of the locations are illustrated though the pictures are nothing special. The text appears in volumes though and fans of Fergus's earlier works won't be disappointed. The Colour Of Magic is an unusual story and shows yet again that it is possible to come up with something that is both different and enjoyable in the adventure field.