The scene is England, shortly after the Battle of Hastings. You are Simon Fletcher, a Norman knight who apparently did rather well there as King William has given you a gift of land on which you have to build a castle before you can become lord of the manor.

This software package from Fernleaf Educational Software, comprising a cassette and a well-produced four-page booklet, is aimed at small groups of 8-12 year olds. The booklet contains a work-planning sheet at the back and, sensibly, Fernleaf specifically states that permission for copying is granted. The program aims to develop language, planning and basic arithmetic skills, but could also be used as a way of reinforcing the history of the period.

The game, because this is how the nine-year-olds will see it, requires the group to allocate resources to various tasks. The castle is a 'motte and bailey' which needs a ditch and mound, as well as trees to build the fence and tower. After choosing a site from three options on a map, the group are told about the workload needed to complete each task. This varies according to the site - if you are near the forest less work is needed to cut and haul trees. The group are not specifically told this, but it is pointed out that each site has advantages and disadvantages.

The group has ten 'days' to complete the job. Each day, they allocate resources (Shades of Yellow River Kingdom?) and afterwards are told if workers or soldiers were lost in raids or accidents. The program then displays the half-built castle. Tasks include setting guards and foraging for food. Insufficient guards can result in heavy losses in raids, Anglo-Saxon peasant workers can run away or be lost through starvation.

The program is robust and should survive handling by eight-year-olds. It provides an environment conducive to reading and lively discussion. The use of the worksheet is clever because it encourages comparisons between attempts and the use of arithmetic.

On the minus side, the writers have decided to use virtually no sound. I can see a case for this in the classroom, but it will be missed by many. The graphics used to draw the castle are slow, and could become annoying in time. There are no right answers in the booklet, which is correct in order to maintain the element of discovery, but some users may expect more from the teacher's notes.

Two minor comments - after ten days' labour and completing the castle, it would be nice to be told more than that you are likely to become lord of the manor. Also, it is interesting to see the forest on the map shown as all conifers, as I believe most English trees at that time were broad-leafed.

Overall, a useful addition to the primary school software library and a pleasant improvement on drill and practice.