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There have not really been many green baize games on the ST - Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker, Steve Davis' World Snooker and 3D Pool being the only ones of note. Until now. Following hot on the heels of Jimmy White, the irrepressible Archer Maclean has come up with a game which is going to have eight-ball addicts champing at the bit. Archer Maclean's Pool follows the familiar 3D format of his snooker game, right down to the balls that pull funny faces at you when you take too long over a shot.

What makes Pool so different from Jimmy is its simplicity - a lot of people were put off by the snooker game because of all the complicated rules and cumbersome gameplay inherent in the green baize game. However, because pool has fewer balls and rules, there are less obstacles to producing a cracking version for the ST.

Before you even start to play the game, you are presented with a variety of options - everything from a human eight player tournament to a trick shot screen. There are also three different versions of Pool - English eight-ball, American eight-ball and American nine-ball - enough to satisfy even the most accomplished hustler. In tournament mode you can choose from 20 different ST players with names like Alex Smartarse and Silly Willy.

Because each of your ST opponents has different playing abilities and styles, taking part in a tournament becomes wildly reminiscent of your local boozer - just when you think you've cracked the championship by defeating Cross-Eyed Chris (every pub has one), along comes Flash Harry to wipe the floor with the pointy bits on your head.

To play the game you are presented with over twenty icons which enable you to set ball spin, angle and cue speed and so on. It's a bit daunting to start with and you find that even Boring Bob manages to thrash the pants off you on your first attempt. However, you soon suss it out and, after an hour or so, are playing like a true pro. The graphics are very realistic - you could almost be playing the real thing and the action is very slick, you can even follow the cue ball when you're taking a shot. However, if you change your table view while cueing up a shot, then go back to your original perspective, you have to start again - but this is only a minor criticism.

If you loved Whirlwind Snooker, then Pool is going to make you take out a lifetime's subscription to Mills and Boon - it's that good. Incredibly realistic graphics combined with excellent gameplay make this a joy to have on your ST. Brilliant.

Great 3D graphics and brilliant gameplay make Pool an even better proposition than Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker.

Can be a bit confusing at first, but you soon get the hang of it.