Whatever the general view of books of programs they have one invaluable use - for owners of recent machines they are well worthwhile as a source of instruction and software.

While the software houses gear up for program conversion to the Amstrad, you could fill a few weeks with entering and amending the programs offered here. There are 27 listings covering text and arcade games, with a smattering of utilities for good measure.

All are accompanied by a short introduction and a screen short but no notes on how they work (a minus point for that). There's nothing startling or particularly sensational - on the other hand most look worthwhile and there must be something for all tastes.

To round things off there's a collection of useful appendices on character sets, screen maps and so on. Got to be worth the money.

Peter Worlock