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As more and more games become available for the BBC Micro (and the Electron), their plots seem to be increasingly bizarre. Optima has entered the fray with a program based around fleas, sandwiches and false teeth.

The game is set in bed and your sole aim is to protect your feet from the ravages of fleas and bed-bugs. The longer you survive, the more pests arrive to do battle with your extremities.

The program loads easily to display a set of instructions and list of parasites and weapons. The main play screen consists of the plan view of a bed with a small menu of 'icons' down one side. The game uniquely offers several playing pieces selected by moving a hand-shaped pointer.

As each piece is chosen it moves from its place in the menu to the top of the bed and may then be moved using the cursor keys or joystick.

At the start you have a brief glimpse of the position of your feet, which then disappear under the bedclothes.

An increasing number of fleas appear and move randomly about the bed, biting your feet if they move over them. You're allowed eight flea bites or one bed-bug bite before the game ends.

Other ways of ending the game include swatting your own feet, moving your jam sandwich (!) off the bed or running into a puddle of jam from a previous swat. The different weapons available include the sticky sandwich, a sponge for wiping the jam away, a set of chomping false teeth, which are good for fleas and bugs, and a phone for emergencies.

Using the phone involves selecting it from the icon, whereupon it moves to the top-left of the bed and rings. When it's answered, you may be lucky enough to have dialled Dr. Pestdeath, who will destroy all fleas on the bed, or Dr. Soothe, who will cure all your bits. Using the facility too often just gets: "Sorry, wrong number".

The idea is novel and a game using decent-sized icons is welcome. These don't move particularly smoothly, however, the fleas move completely randomly and a swat with the sandwich is not always successful.