If you remember Kit Williams' book Masquerade, where the author hid a valuable piece of jewellery somewhere in Britain then published a book containing clues as to where it could be found, then you'll have a fair idea what this program is all about. The ideal in The Lost Ruby is much the same except there's no real jewel, and all the digging you are going to do will be on screen.

Basically, you chase round the Isle of Wight trying to track down the whereabouts of a ruby. No sooner have you walked out of Sandown than you're in Ryde. There's no real sense of journey; you don't feel like you have been or are going to real places The location descriptions don't help any, either. The graphics are almost as basic, and certainly as dull, as the test location descriptions.

Could have been a decent adventure. Next time, forget the travel-writing and concentrate on the game!