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Leisure Genius Scrabble is a computer version of the best-selling and almost cultish board-game with the added advantage that you can play against the computer. This is great if you can't find a partner and a good way of looking at the computer's built-in dictionary. The documentation states that there are over 11,000 words whereas the box states over 12,000. Whatever the number, the program loads in a very acceptable five minutes.

Computer Scrabble first appeared on the Spectrum over a year ago and I have been waiting with bated breath for the Amstrad conversion. The program's parentage is obvious as it uses a Spectrum type loader (lots of flashing lines on the screen) and they have also decided to re-define the perfectly readable Amstrad characters to match the less readable Spectrum set.

I thought the graphics were certainly less inspired than the original, the amazing tile juggling and placement sequences are missing. Admittedly, graphics are only the icing on the cake, and not of great importance in a board-game like this, but all the same, this did blunt my appreciation of the program a little.

Despite all this, the game will sell in vast quantities as it has in its previous incarnations. It is both addictive and frustrating and will keep you amused well into the early hours.