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What are the ingredients for a good night down the boozer? A decent drink, certainly, but what else? Good company, interesting surroundings, a good jukebox? What about an unusual pub game?

There's very little that's ordinary about anything to do with Shufflepuck Cafe. The clients of this watering hole are as rum a bunch as you're likely to meet. There's Skip, the polite schoolboy swat, Lexan, the drunken alien, and Nerqul, the spectre who's head rests on his stomach, to name but a few. The place is full of weirdos, and you're there to swap a few yarns and play a game or two of shufflepuck.

And shufflepuck is a little bit like that end-of-pier air hockey game in which you whack the puck over a bed of compressed air, although this game being its futuristic counterpart, you get the chance to alter the weight and the size of your paddle and the amount of spin which it gives. But don't be lulled into thinking that a bigger, weightier paddle is all you need. Your computer opponent will anticipate your attempt to 'cheat' and try to outmanoeuvre your stunt.

If you're only in for a quick smack around the table, then you can choose any opponent you wish, or even just have a spot of training with the totally programmable training droid. However, if it's a full challenge you're after, then enter the tournament and try and take the title of Best Shufflepuck player from none other than Biff Raunch.

Things start simple enough. Skip is slow, and not the most aggressive of players. However, the action soon hots up as players respond faster to your shots, and the returns get faster and at obscure angles. It takes a quick eye and a sturdy mouse to keep the puck flying.

Even with all the opponents, and all the different playing styles, the game does start to pall after a few goes. The small amount of gameplay is very limiting, and hitting a puck back and forth over and over again does get very dull. Occasionally, you'll come across a character who does something different, like the witchy young lady who uses magic to make the puck float across the table and shoot off at a weird angle.

The graphics are pretty limited too. The main game area remains the same throughout the game, the only thing that changes is the graphics of the person you play. For the most part, these are represented by still graphics that move occasionally whenever a point is scored. The responses, such as the spectre revealing his head and emitting a howl when he gives a point away are humorous to start with, but simply become annoying after a while.

It's fun to play, and it can be quite addictive, but only for a short while. A game which would have benefitted from a two-player option. Once again, more variety please.