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Real bird-watchers are called twitchers. They wander the heaths and dunes of the country twitching, a convulsive movement that brings binoculars to their eyes at the same time as they cry: "Good heavens, a bed-wracked shrike."

Ospreys don't like to be twitched. It disturbs them. It stops them making little ospreys, and usually sends them somewhere else next time they feel frisky.

Amsoft's game is new to the Amstrad but other micro users may have been persuaded by it since its launch last year to stop annoying ospreys, if they ever did. Osprey is intended to be educational.

Sadly, it seems certain to fail through dullness. Worthy, certainly, but so frustrating that you'll probably yearn for an anti-aircraft battery to pick off the swooping ospreys and bring the whole sorry saga to a quick end.

The strategic interest of the game lies in your use of wardens; it's the only area of decision-making. How many will you use to stop egg-snatchers? How many to patrol the area of the osprey's territory?

The scene of the action is simply drawn. Your wardens, take up their allotted positions and the ospreys flit about squeaking and occasionally plunging into the loch. Two-dimensional cars arrive, sometimes honking their horns. Dog-like figures attempt to plunder the next. Sometimes a warden scares them off, sometimes not. After a couple of minutes, you're told how the season went, whether the osprey population rose or fell - but you aren't told why. Next season you try again.

There's no interaction and no explanation. Why do four wardens deter an egg thief? In short, Osprey is a rubout. If you twitch a copy, consider that it might best be left alone.