Balance tests your powers of mental arithmetic by giving you a sum to do. The sum appears on one side of a set of scales, and the answer you type in appears on the other.

The pans of the scales balance when the answer is correct, otherwise they tilt.

It's not always easy but it is colourful and fun to play.

By Chris Price

LUNAR LANDER gives you the chance to play one of the classic computer games on your micro.

The story goes that, owing to an interstellar catastrophe, you've had to leap into your escape capsule and head for the comparative safety of the Moon.

The trouble is that the ship is a bit primitive, with very few instruments and controls.

You've only got a limited amount of fuel and the lunar surface is coming up fast.

Add to all this that there's only one place you can land safely and you'll see the problems.

Could you survive in such an emergency? Play LUNAR LANDER and find out!

R. J. Arundale presents you with a tricky and skilful job - save the explorers without getting zapped by a passing asteroid

In MOON RESCUE, you take the part of a space ship's pilot. Forut explorers are stuck on the lunar surface and you have to take a shuttle down to the temporary landing pads to try to bring them back to the ship.

As the shuttle only seats two, you have to make four separate trips.

What makes it harder is that as soon as you take off from the pad, it disintegrates. (Well, they are temporary!). This means you have to head for a different pad for each explorer.

Also you have to leave the ship on autopilot and it won't slow down to help you when you return.

And, of course, there are the asteroids. Some of them are stationary and others, more devious, hurtle along in low, fast orbits.

It's not easy but it is fun. And, like all good games, as you get better at it, it gets harder.

Denis Smith has taken an old oriental puzzle and brought it up to date - but it's just as difficult to solve!

Towers Of Hanoi is the Electron version of an age-old puzzle that has confounded generations.

It consists of three posts, the first of which carries a number of rings, each of a different size.

The idea is that you have to move the rings from the post on the left to the middle post.

When you move a ring it has to be slipped onto one of the other two posts, but that's not as easy as it may seem.

The rules state that you cannot put a larger ring on top of a smaller one, so you have to do some careful manoeuvring.

Towers Of Hanoi is simple to play but hard to solve. It's fascinating, frustrating and compulsive.

And don't worry if you have problems, the Electron will show you how to do it if you ask!