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The object of the game? Well, you just pile up steel balls on the same colour and make them disappear. There are three different colours of balls and they're all worth 50 points each.

Sound simple? Yes, but as with most games with such a simple scenario, Pick 'n' Pile is totally addictive from the word GO and, if you can put this one down after just five minutes, you're a stronger person than the ACU boys and girls!

Press play and the first level to materialise is relatively straightforward. There can't be more than about twenty five balls on the screen, so place them quickly and you should have no trouble at all.

As the balls fall from the top of the screen, you can start placing immediately by positioning the cursor over the ball you wish to move and pressing fire. Then move the cursor to the desired position and press fire again to make the change and cause the explosion.

At the end of this level, you may be a little perplexed to find one or two odd balls that won't go away. If you do, just press P, or the right hand cursor to get some more balls to appear on the screen to help you match up the spares.

Simplicity itself, what? OK, from here on in, the going gets tougher. "But I've never seen that many balls before!", I hear you cry. That's right, and you've got to get rid of them all in double time or it's all over.

Use the walls at either side to build up columns to gain extra points and, if you can slip in a couple of bonus balls, your score will shoot up. For each column totalling more than 1,000 points, you get a diamond, its brilliance and value depending on how many points you totalled.

Collect the diamonds by exploding them again and, when you've got twenty, get set for a mega-bonus in time and points.

Use the egg-timer to gain extra time and make sure you put the bombs to good use to get rid of the balls.

Things aren't all stacked in your favour, however. As the balls change hue and shape on the various levels, keep your eyes peeled for the little devils. All they want to do is get to ground level and eat up your limited time. Stop them by using bombs, by swapping them around but, whatever you do, stop them!

With a neat soundtrack rounding off some excellent and colourful graphics, Pick 'n' Pile is an excellently produced package that'll have you jumping with frustration as you try to beat your last score. It'll take you a couple of tries to sort out the earlier rounds but, once mastered, you'll be busy for a pretty long time.