'You must become Ulysses,' says the manual. 'Your task: to find the Golden Fleece and return it to the King. The perils are many, your foes powerful. But with courage, logic, intuition and luck, you can survive and take with you the secrets of sorcerers. Now sit back, close your eyes, and I'll spin a spell to open time's portals...

The game is for one player and is set in a number of locations, including the King's town, a tavern, a shop and Colossal Island. Each location has its own picture, which comes on the screen when you get there - in the time I was playing, I found at least twenty. In each of these places you will bump into people - guards, sailors, shopkeepers - or stumble across objects to take on your quest.

If you stumble across a mysterious floating bottle, for instance, you just type GET BOTTLE. The item is then added to your baggage and disappears from the picture.

You start off in the town. From there, you can move north, south, east or west. You may speak to anyone you meet, to see whether they have any helpful information. Robbers may steal some or all of your possessions. You may be able to buy something - or you may find that what you thought was money isn't legal tender here.

The instruction book does not tell you much about what you can or cannot do. Part of the fun is finding out for yourself, and you will need to use your imagination to find the right commands. The game certainly has a sense of humour. When I was unable to get any sense from a guard, I typed in KILL GUARD. The response was 'That wouldn't be nice. Besides, he's bigger than you'.

I was not particularly impressed with the graphics - I've seen better on micros such as the Apple or Atari. But only a mad millionaire is going to buy an IBM PC for games. This game, and others like it, will be played by the boss in the evenings. It could give a new meaning to 'working late at the office tonight, dear'.

Mike Whitney