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St Brides have already perplexed, frustrated and amused many of my fellow Wizards with their tales of strange goings-on al the St Brides School in County Donegal. Now Marianne Scarlett (Miss) and her colleagues have turned out a version of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, The Snow Queen.

This game makes a rather interesting comparison with the two games we've just looked at. Like these, it's an adaptation of a work of fiction, but the confines of The Quill, (with which it was written) and the fact that it is cassette-based, obviously pose limitations.

The limitations are really on style as much as content. Both Nine Princes and Perry Mason try to live up to the originals by putting you 'inside' the characters concerned. The Snow Queen, like other British adventures, doesn't go in for much character interaction (though you can, and should, kiss your grandmother), but instead tries to recreate scenes from the original story, together, of course, with some puzzles to solve and objects to find.

The story of The Snow Queen is simple. Gerda's childhood sweetheart has fallen under an evil enchantment, with a sliver of glass from a magical mirror embedded in his heart. Held in thrall by the Snow Queen, he can only be rescued by young Gerda, who sets out to find him and release him from the spell.

The Snow Queen is a Quill/Illustrator production and the graphics are quite competently done. The game itself I found quite difficult and had to resort in a hint sheet even in the first few locations. You don't necessarily have to know the original story to succeed, but it certainly helps you get your bearings.

Those of you who like fairy tales will probably get a reasonable amount of enjoyment out of this release, but I hasten to add that I think many adventurers, accustomed to more blood-thirsty fare, may find it lacking in excitement. The original magic of Hans Anderson's story is undeniable, but how well it survives in binary medium is open to question.