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Squirrel Software has taken the interesting step of marketing its BBC software with a version of the same program for the Electron on the flip side. Unfortunately, if Polar Perils it an example of the games, it is about the only clever marketing decision it has made.

There are several good points about the game - the scenario is original with a nicely animated little eskimo warding off the advances of a polar bear (one of the rare yellow ones) across the ice floes. The sound is fine without being inspiring.

The trouble is that at least the first two games are unplayable. I never have been one of the world's computer game million scorers, but have usually been able to amass a respectable few thousand. Not so with this one.

The first screen shows a strip of land across the top of the display, two small islands to left and right and a further slightly larger one at the bottom.

Your task is to skip across the bergs to one of the side islands, pick up a spear and stick the bear with it before hopping across to the bottom island. All very well, except that the icebergs move completely randomly and you're left standing there like a frozen lemon.

The second screen, should you ever reach it, has you wandering around on thin ice trying to discover where the ice is thin by dropping rocks on it. The third screen, well...