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Here we look at two packages that approach the problem of putting the social climbers game on the screen in two very different ways. Handic's package allows considerable scope; and Bridgemaster aims to teach the game as well as provide 'hands' against which you can practise.

To start with, we're not convinced that the Bridgemaster approach is the best way to learn the game; Bridgemaster is certainly a good stab at trying, however the introductory book (included with the two commentary tapes) is well laid out and the tapes are excellent.

Presentation on-screen takes the form of so many written interpretations, hands are numbered North, West, East and South, beginning with 'hands' and no bidding sequence.

The program takes you through the essentials of bidding, to the complex routines of conventional bidding.

We certainly found it all well-presented and informative; but one small gripe was that the only correct card (or bid) could be played - all other entries were invalid. This actually omits the possibility of learning by one's mistakes, and winning all the time can get boring...

Handic's cartridge, on the other hand, allows you to play any card you wish and therefore provides a computer opponent rather than a learning package. The presentation of Handic's seems basic, though, and there's no grading from easy to difficult hands. One large criticism is the lack of any bidding sequence - the bid is merely called and no reply given. This tends to degenerate the game to a form of whist with a bridge format.

If you're a beginner, the Bridgemaster package certainly comes up trumps (sic) because of the unrelenting hands to play. Handic's is one for the more experienced. Having said that, we still learnt a lot from Bridgemaster; and overall we preferred that package.