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When Spindizzy claims that it is a 3D game of skill, it's not kidding. It's a hell of a challenge. After continual practice my progress was still as painfully slow as my performance as dismal as when I loaded the game up.

The game scenario is not really worth going into. Spindizzy is a 3D skill test along the lines of Marble Madness. It isn't a straight copy like the disastrous Gyroscope though, there's plenty of originality and depth there as well.

Like Gremlin's Boulder the idea is simple. You guide an object - you can choose a shape from a top, triangle or ball - round a network of blocks to collect jewels. The network is, of course, wickedly designed so that the jewels are unassailably placed around. Your route is a perilous mixture of slopes, gaps and narrow ledges. Margins for error are small and as you negotiate your way around the system the slightest slip well send you hurtling into space.

If all this isn't bad enough the struggle to complete the map. Collecting jewels gains you ten seconds each time, but falling off the edge results in energy being drained with a resultant further time loss. Using the space bar to slow yourself down is often unavoidable but the effect is only to speed up time loss. The dirty rotten %^$*%!

If all that wasn't enough, other hazards like ice and changes of view so that you can't see what you're doing are all enough to have you take off to the funny farm accompanied by two men in white coats. The games three hundred plus screens should keep you there for quite some time.

Making a map is an absolute necessity if you want to get anywhere. You can approach an area from more than one direction. You'll have to do this because for in some places your sphere will disappear because of your angle of view.

Spindizzy's graphics are excellent. The 3D effect works perfectly and movement is smooth and exact. All layouts are colourful although you are given an option for a monochrome view if you so desire to see what the game would look like if you were a dog.

Sound is minimal apart from the odd ping when you collect a jewel or touch a lift or shape tile. I must admit some sort of background noise might have improved it, but I'm glad the temptation to shove a tune in was resisted.

Programmer Paul Shirley must be one mean son of a byte to put something like this together.