First let us introduce Gortek, that staunch robot-like figure with the large worried eyes. Why worried? Because his planet, Syntax, is under threat of invasion from the nasty Zitrons. If they succeed, they'll destroy the all-powerful computer, Creativity, which Gortek guards along with his band of Microchips. You must learn to program along with the Microchips to repel the Zitrons and preserve Creativity. Sounds like being fun? Definitely, so load up the first program.

A rather simple game called Zitrack sets the course rolling. The Zitrons are attacking with that devious weapon, alien letters. As they fall, you must press the corresponding letters on the keyboard to destroy them. So zapping can be educational; a few minutes of that and you've miraculously learned a little about keyboard layout. Not much in the way of graphics, though. And that regrettably goes for all the games.

The next game counters another dastardly Zitron ploy. This time they're duplicating passwords to try and land. Trouble is, they can't spell so you zap the incorrect words to keep them out. Ah, so correct syntax is essential in programming? Maybe that point was too subtle - it's never really articulated.

Having done a little game playing, you're brought back to the appropriate page in the manual. After a little work, you're told to take a break and load up another game. This is the general pattern; you alternate between screen and book so the learning part never gets too strenuous. But what have you learnt by the end of the first tape?

Well, you've become more familiar with the keyboard. One of the games, Flog, has demonstrated the computer's ability to add and subtract. You've written a little program and learned some basic commands which the Manual very sensibly lists as a recap.

A few symbols for PRINT statements have also appeared which proved slightly more tricky; you're supposed to find out for yourself what the symbols do. There are answers in the back, but one gripe is that the 'heart' symbol isn't explained. So you've learned some of the basic stuff, and there's more to come.

But back to the Zitrons: they're now preparing to land on Syntax to sabotage Creativity, so training must go on. The manual comes up with these exhortations regularly but it does warn you against jumping ahead too quickly. That's wise because it's all getting more complicated.

You've now reached the second tape and about a third the way into the Training Manual. The first program on the tape is called Boxes which corresponds with the page on variables. The book doesn't use this term but it does impact the idea that a computer stores information, whether numbers or letters, in a 'box' labelled with a letter. It explains the dollar sign too as the indicator for alphanumeric variables, and uses the game to test your comprehension.

Having grasped that, you key in a program using string variables from the manual. Again, the book dispenses with the technical terms, probably because they may confuse the tender of age. What's probably more confusing is not knowing how to correct lines when you get a syntax error on running the program. The Training Manual surprisingly neglects to explain this point, so you'll need to browse through your User Manual, earning you extra points for initiative.

Despite that, the book is generally very good. It's colourful, well-illustrated and uses bold print. The program listings are clear and easy to follow. The course has been designed so that more uses is made of the manual as you progress, and it's never patronising either.

Back to the great task, though. The manual now looks at multiplication and gives examples of programs that print out multiplication tables. But if that's too academic for you, a flip over the page takes you to the computer art section. There's a program for this on the tape which sounds good but, in fact, it is quite boring when you run it. Since the manual gives listings of alternative designs, you'll probably be inspired to create something more imaginative.

But what's Gortek been doing all this time? You've probably guessed that the Zitrons aren't very artistic so learning a little about design is part of his counterplot. The next step is programming Creativity (the computer, if you'd forgotten) to be friendly. That sounds reasonable too, because "a smile generates a smile" chortles the manual in its usual happy tone. That should confuse the Zitrons. Meanwhile, you run the Conversations program and have a nice chat with the computer.

That theme is expanded in the manual, which lists an example of an interactive arithmetic program for you to play around with. This is where the division sign is introduced. But we're almost near the end and the Zitrons have landed, only to be mesmerised by the next program you've just loaded. Of course, the object is that you help the Zitrons play - to make them forget their destructive instincts.

But that's not enough; you've got to write new programs to keep them occupied. So the last two pages are designed to test the programming knowledge you've gained. Whether you profited from the experience or not, it all ends happily. You've convinced the misanthropic Zitrons that "there is something better in life than destruction" and that "computing is fun". Could that be a side-swipe at space-invader zapping?

Young people reaching the end of this course will, no doubt, gain a sense of achievement even if they're already beginning to forget what was initially learned. That doesn't matter because they can do it all again, or any of its large variety of parts. This is a clever package, partly because it encourages children to find things out for themselves. Being based around a story, it holds interest far better than most educational programs. It's a good story too, and only the first in a series - Gortek And The Kryptobytes is coming soon!