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Then there is The Jewel of Power from Slogger Software. At £9.50 this is another expensive game but it's big and complex. The problems are extremely involved and I suspect it would keep even veteran players struggling.

The story line is not new and revolves around your search for the missing fragments of a magic staff which will lead you to the great jewel itself. The once happy land is full of sadness and desolation as a result of its disappearance. This is a standard plot in adventuring these days and most of you who have played such games regularly will not need to adjust too much to the game's environment and rules.

The game has 'dynamic' graphics - that is, they show you the results of some of your actions and, as in Gremlins, are partially animated on occasions. They are strikingly primary in their colours and dominate the screen. Beneath them is the input and response area.

The game has a large vocabulary and the interpreter is sophisticated and advanced enough to notice words it does not understand as you are typing them in. That is a very friendly feature and one example of the level of skill and care put into the programming.

The 125 locations cover the range of magical and fairy tale settings. There are thick woods, troll-infested landscapes, deserts, castles, mazes and dungeons. Few of the many objects have obvious uses and I thought that the puzzles were of the quality you might expect from companies like Level 9. Even the objective of the game is hidden and must be searched for right at the beginning.

This is a high-powered, high quality expert's game and, given the amount of time it will take to solve, justifies the relatively high price. It is custom-built and other adventure programmers would do well to note some of its features. The theme is not my personal cup of tea but I'm sure it will appeal to many hardened players.