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Those John Wayne westerns on the box have always failed to show one important aspect of a cowboy's life. Sure, there's gunslinging, cattle rustling, gunslinging, fighting Indians, gunslinging and robbing stagecoaches, but what happens when the sun sets and the dollars run out?

Microbytes has come up with the answer, 100 years after most cowboys hung up their horses, and has converted those Western Games onto the computer. Your host in this Yank version of the Highland Games is a uni-toothed old-timer called Tottle. He pops up in the instructions to give you skill clues for each of the six games - and are they weird with a capital everything.

The games are rough and, to spare you none of the embarrassment involved in competing each event is displayed in glorious high-res technicolour which may not be surprising on the ST but is some achievement on the CPC. Only a few parts of each display are required to move, though, so perhaps the feat isn't too miraculous.

First up, you've got arm wrestling - but not your milksopping Brit version. The contests held over a candle so the first arm that hits the deck gets cooked into the bargain.

Two human players can take part - as in all the games - but if you decide to take sides against the computer instead, be careful. Its player has been known to use two arms when referee Beanpole Fred nods off to sleep, as he often does.

Arm wrestling's all about strength and you get yours by waiting for the arm on the status display to enter a strong phase. When you think it's as strong as it's going to get pull back on the joystick so that, hopefully, the match and your arm goes in the right direction.

Beershooting's next, and it's about as hazardous as heavy drinking. The bottles are held by the village idiots, and don't forget murder's a hanging offence, even if it's in play.

The idea is to hit five bottles with bullets faster than your opponent - yep, it's fast draw by any other name. The longer you take to draw the more nervous you become. Your gun hand starts shaking until you risk missing the target when you pull your trigger.

Your opponent is not a little drunk, so you can wait and see if he misses before calmly drawing your weapon, but make sure you hit all five bottles or you'll have to start the round again and the computer rarely misses twice, even when he's supposed to get as nervous as you.

Dancing is reduced to a lout's pastime in this game. The idea's to keep in step and time with your partner.

Baccy-spitting? Yuk! I refuse to partake of this game. Ah, is this a six-shooter I see before me? Well, okay, I'll give it a go. I've been taught the technique of spitting tobacco into a pot by one of the best - Tottle. First, bite off a quid of baccy, chew it for a while, set the angle of spit, set the strength of spit and lob it.

Finally, thank the great cattle gods, the Milking contest is good for a laugh. You have a milk can to kill and to do it, squeezing on those udders, you've got to match your joystick pumping action with the throb of the udder indicator in the status panel.

Well, I'm thoroughly disgusted. My jaws ache, my trigger finger's all but dropped off and my wrist's seized up, but still I enjoyed this unique game.