Improve your child's perception with Chris Nixon's educational game

ODD ONE OUT is a game which can help children learn to group similar objects together, and reject any which don't match the group in a specific way.

Teaching your children to group together objects that have something in common is a slow task, and is often aided by the use of games, puzzles and other easily followed teaching tools. But in order to avoid loss of interest, all such devices must have the added attraction of being fun.

The use of computers in homes and primary schools is enabling some of these educational tools to be converted into colourful, interesting programs which can be used in the home or classroom unsupervised - to an extent - by the parent or teacher.

The Electron has long been established in primary schools throughout the country, and was therefore an ideal vehicle for ONE ODD OUT. Two players are required for this game, which will help stimulate discussion over the questions posed. There are only thirty questions, but the program only just squeezes into the Electron's memory as it is, and the use of colour - which helps to retain interest - and 40 column text would be lost if a higher memory mode had been chosen at the outset.

Each player is first asked for their name - always important in children's games. Large letters are used here, and extensively throughout the game to aid with reading the messages.

The players can then sit back and wait while the playing board is drawn on the screen. This consists of two winnometers, which are wide horizontal bars, one above the other.

These gradually fill with yellow each time a player's question is answered correctly, and the player who reaches his win marker first is awarded one point, and both winnometers are then reset for the start of the next game.

Each question takes the form "Freddy, which is the odd one one?" followed by a list of five objects. A pointer slowly moves down the list, and selection is made by pressing the SPACE bar while the pointer is over one of the choices. This is so children with limited coordination can participate in the game.

The thirty questions are held in data statements at the end of the program, and if you want to change them, the format is straight-forward.

Four words or phrases which have something in common are separated by commas, with a fifth word or phrase which is the odd one out inserted anywhere among them.

Then another comma and a sentence explaining what the other four have in common, and finally another comma and a number between 0 and 4 identifying which of the five items is the correct choice.

Explore the reaches of unknown space in this superb arcade simulation of galactic flight.

Beyond the depths of the Crab nebulla, in the darkness of Teinazures gate, lie the Straits of Magellan - an uncharted region of space spanning an unknown distance.

In the ancient scriptures of your planet it is written that a rich and profitable trading route once spanned the length of the strait, joining the moons of Andromeda with the shoulder of Orion.

Many thousands of years ago however, during a terrible war, an entire planet was destroyed and now leaves a legacy of deadly asteroids floating in the narrow passageway of the strait.

The supreme council assembles and calls in you, Sebastian Jones, their finest star pilot and navigator extraordinaire.

His eminence, the Katarn explains that a priceless religious artefact, the Orb of Wisdom, has been stolen from the great temple.

The traitor has escaped along the Straits of Magellan, presumed to be heading for Rigel.

Although you've never held much store by antiquities in the past, the offer of a hefty purse and instant fame appeals to you immediately.

Dare you venture into the most treacherous region of space to recover the Orb? Only you will know as you play NAVIGATOR.

The object of the game is to get from the top left of each screen to the exit gate at the bottom right. This is achieved by moving left and right through the obstacles using the thrust key (SHIFT) to control your speed.

Be careful not to thrust in any direction for too long, because due to inertia the spacecraft keeps moving for a long time.

Crashing into the walls of the Straits or the asteroids is fatal, and you only have five lives.

And even though NAVIGATOR is less than 2.5K long, it has no less than six mases and a virtually infinite number of asteroid-infested screens.

Mazes appear on the even-numbered levels up to level 12, even more challenging than the last.

This remarkable game demonstrates the real power of Electron Basic.

Get your spade arm into action with Steven Martin's super maze game

The forces of evil have once more transported an unwitting mortal down to their fiendist underground maze to satisfy some terrible purpose.

You are that mortal, and before you can escape to breathe fresh air again, your intellect, speed and endurance will be stretched to breaking point.

In this all-action machine code game, you are faced with the task of collecting every diamond buried in the maze with you before ascending to the next highest cave, and - hopefully - eventual freedom.

This is no simple task, as you are surrounded by vicious maze munchers who take great umbrage at the thought of their precious booty being liften from under their yellow noses.

To make matters worse, the maze is full of magic mushrooms just itching to brush their fungal feelers against you and sting you into oblivion.

And as if that weren't enough, some joker has poured a truckful of rocks down the cave. Negotiating your way past these while being pursued by a frenzied monster certainly raises the blood pressure.

It's not all plain sailing for the monsters, though, as you can decide at the start how fast you want everything to move through the maze.

You control your small figure from the keyboard and can pause the action at any time by pressing P.

Your score, together with the number of remaining diamonds and lives, is shown below the maze. Each new cave contains more diamonds than the last - and the monsters get smarter.

Game Controls:
Z - Left, X - Right, * - Up, ? - Down, P - Pause