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More than a sequel, as the "II" in the title would seem to suggest, this is a new revised and expanded version of Ishido: The Way Of Stones, made by the same author in 2015, and conversion of a game designed by Michael Feinberg and published by Accolade for various platforms in 1990.

Feinberg presented Ishido as if it were an ancient means of meditation in use for centuries among Chinese Taoist monks of the White Crane School. The original edition included even a 20-page booklet entitled 'The Legend Of Ishido', written by himself, telling the story of a mendicant monk who made the game known by taking it with him "one misty spring morning in 1989". Of course, this is pure literary fiction, aiming to adorn Ishido with an exotic atmosphere.

The game consists of 36 pairs of rectangular stones of 6 different colours; each one bears one of 6 different symbols, for a total of 72 stones. The aim is to place as many stones as possible on a board of 96 spaces, trying to accumulate points. The stones must be placed one at a time and always adjacent - not diagonally - to another stone, provided that the two stones have at least one attribute, colour or symbol, in common. To be placed between two other stones, a stone must have the colour of one and the symbol of the other.

A particularly important and rare combination is the 4-Way, i.e. a stone placed in the midst of four arranged in a cross: in this case, the stone must have the colour of two of them and the symbol of the other two. All combinations give points, but only when the stones are placed on the inside of the board: the outer edge does not give points, but stones can be placed there to begin a combination. The 4-Way, besides the maximum score, assigns a progressive bonus and increases scores for the other combinations.

You can play alone or in pairs with the computer, represented by Dalgon, the monk of the story, displayed at the bottom right, who "speaks" through a scrolling text placed at the lower edge of the screen. Dalgon comments on the player's moves and, in solo mode only, can give suggestions, up to a maximum of five.

Compared to the first version of five years ago, this new Ishido has significantly improved in sound and presentation; on the 128K, background music composed by David Willis is heard; the game begins with a presentation where the initial screen appears progressively while Dalgon 'tells' the legend of Ishido; on the other hand, the stones sets and board styles remained unchanged. The basic algorithm has also been revised, so that pauses of even a few seconds due to the calculation of legitimate moves for the player are no longer noticed, even when many stones lie on the board.

Also, you can now control the game with a Kempston or Sinclair joystick, however - and this is a step backwards from the old Ishido - you can no longer redefine the keys.

Ishido II: Legacy Of The White Crane represents then, like its predecessor, an enjoyable diversion from the plethora of action titles (platforms, shooters, etc.) that make up the vast majority of 'new' Spectrum games. The new features, while not altering its substance, are an improvement capable of making a game already interesting in itself more attractive for all those looking for something more 'meditative'.