The explosion of sales of the Amstrad PC 1312 will have many far reaching effects. There were of course a number of IBM compatible machines available before the birth of the PC 1512, but the price of the Amstrad and the proven track record of the company in the field of home computers, has tempted many people into joining the ranks of what is one of the accepted industry standard systems.

Most of these newcomers will be using the machine for business or pseudo business operations. Software for wordprocessing, accounts, databases and many other related programs is now appearing at a price to match this inexpensive computer. The outcome must be even higher sales of PC 1512s. Many of these users are then going to find that there are additional advantages to be found. Computers do not only mean work, they offer relaxation too!

Although all sorts of games are available in the IBM format, I think that those that will appeal most to the 1512 user will be games that use the brain rather than dexterity and also those that do not necessarily commit the player to hours of play at one time. Not surprisingly, I would put adventure/strategy games at the top of the list!

The Amstrad CPC computers have been well served in this field, with adventures both from this Country and from Europe. Sadly some excellent games from America have not been converted for the CPCs (or PCWs). Conversions for Atari, Apple, Commodore or IBM computers are the norm, as these sell well on the other side or the big water. The PC 1512 now opens up a completely new dimension for the adventure buff. Taking note of 1512 sales and the potential for American sales, software houses are already looking for PC conversions of their best adventures. With the already existing large base of American adventures, the 1512 user could well have the best of both worlds. Here be dragons

One such import from America is Dragonworld by Telarium, based on the novel of the same name by Byron Preiss and Michael Reaves. Telarium are fairly well known on the USA adventure scene with all their games so far, based on books by well known authors. They usually consist of two discs, have reasonable graphics and a good quantity of well written text.

In Dragonworld you are Amsel of Fandora, a scientist and researcher, leading a solitary life away from the rough and tumble of the sprawling medieval cities found across the lands. In the not so distant past you were responsible for averting a bloody war between Fandora and its neighbour Simbala.

In that adventure you met and became firm friends with Hawkwind of Simbala and the almost legendary figure of the Last Dragon.

On parting, the latter gave you one of the precious Dragonpearls, a mystic creation that permits visions of the past and predicts the' future. Through this, you have learnt that the Last Dragon has been captured by the Duke of Darkness. There is no ignoring the call, you must find Hawkwind and together you must rescue your friend.

First you must travel to Simbala from your island retreat, and enlist the help of Hawkwind. Then travel to the city of Kandesh and beyond to Dragonmount for the final stages of your quest. There are a number of good puzzles, and if you get stuck there are a series of simply coded hints at the back of the instruction booklet.

Initially I thought that the game was of that type of bookware that requires little imagination on the part of the player, with all your moves planned carefully in advance by the programmers.

True, in the first few stages there is really nowhere to go except along a predestined (programmed) path in the right direction, but do not get overconfident - there is more to come.

Commands are generally given in the form of verb/noun but more complex inputs are occasionally called for and different commands may be linked with THEN to form one sentence.

As you travel, talk to all the characters you meet, you never know what you may learn. Take care in drawing your maps, the layout is fairly logical, but the distance travelled in one move, does not always correspond to the distance travelled in another.

Amsel is neither very tall nor particularly strong, so when you find an action is beyond you, try ASK HAW K'WIND_ He is a very obliging chap and incredibly useful to have around on a trip such as this.

The instruction booklet provides a list of well over 500 words that the program understands. Type in NEWDATA when you first start the adventure and you may well learn a few more. This is not to say that they are the only ones understood, but you certainly should not be at a loss for words in this game.

You will need a separate formatted disc on which to save your game positions. Once you start the adventure type in CREATE and follow the on-screen instructions. This allows you to have ten saved positions, each with a label to remind you later what it was you saved.

When you first open up the packet you will probably read the instructions for "Loading on the IBM". These could give you a slight problem. They explain how to install part of the DOS disc operating system) on to the Dragonworld A disc. This would then enable you to start the game by just inserting the game disc when you switched on your 1512. Unfortunately there is not enough room on the disc. How then do you start playing? Switch on and insert the Amstrad red disc and wait until you get the A> prompt. Remove the red disc and put in the Dragonworld A disc.

Type AUTOEXEC.BAT, press Return, and away you go. Whilst on the subject of adventures on the PC 1512, do not forget that a host of cheap programs are available either as public domain software or through the many user groups.

There is still some uncertainty on how much you should pay for these programs. Most come from the USA and have a README file that suggests you send the author a nominal fee. You may have to pay a member's fee followed by something for each disc. Membership fees vary from around £7.50 to £35 and disc prices from £3 to £10.

The idea of this form of software distribution was to create a large range of cheap programs and not commercial profit. Some very good programs are available in this way, but do be careful that you are not paying more than you should - and remember the original author would still like some small donation.