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Oh no! Not another of those blasted puzzle games! Games that look dull to the casual observer, but keep you glued to the keyboard for hours on end when you know damn well that you've got far more important things to do. Oh yes, that's exactly what kind of game Puzznic is.

It's all about matching blocks of the same type together. Put one next to another and they disappear; clear everything on the screen and you're through to the next problem. The difficuty lies in the nature of the puzzles. Often there are three blocks of a like type, and these need to be brought together simultaneously - or else you have a spare one left over and no way to get rid of it.

To complicate matters still further, unsupported blocks fall until they hit something. Then, as well as the blocks, there are stationary walls too, which cannot be manipulated, and other walls that do move - but not under your direct control. They're often the key to solving the puzzle - you have to drop blocks onto them - but in these circumstances, split second timing is vital.

You're pitted against four puzzles on each of the eight increasingly difficult levels - but when you advance a level, you get a further choice of routes, so where level one has one set of four puzzles, number two has two sets - you can choose which one to go for after completing level one. This goes on until you reach level eight, which offers eight lots of brain teasers to test you.

When you finally manage to work out exactly how you do complete the blasted brain teaster that's had you stumped for the last fifteen minutes - well, it's a feeling of joy, love, well-being and general happiness with the world at large.

Graphically the game won't set you shaking with excitement. Then again, there's not really that much that could be done with a set of square blocks. Most important, the blocks are clear and distinctive, so there's no danger of confusion or getting the blocks mixed up. The problems are much more cunning than that.

Puzznic may lose out on the cuteness that other puzzlers - like E-Motion - have, but it has to be one of the most addictive since... well, since ST puzzle games began. Though the rules are the same for each level, the sheer number of puzzles gives it a variety unsurpassed by other games. What's more, the choice of different routes means that if you get stumped by one particular puzzle, there's always a way around it. When you finally do reach the last level, there are another 127 ways to complete the game.

Get hold of Puzznic and Puzznic gets hold of you. And it won't let go for a long time to come.