Moria (Severn) (Oric 48K)

To help you in your quest, you can buy spells from the wizard or ointment from the trader, at a price.

Zodiac (Tansoft) (Oric 48K)

Easy to play yet not easy to solve, which is a good combination.

Grail (Severn) (Oric 16K)

All this icing is all very well, but the game itself is more a matter of luck than skill. I found it boring after a while.

Pharoah's Tomb (Phipps) (Spectrum 48K)

Once you've been right the way through the game there are no surprises left.

Time Warp (English) (Atari 400/800)

I'd like to say something nice about Time Warp, but I can't.

Brainstorm (Micromega) (Spectrum 16K)

The programs are well written, well crash-proofed and well presented, but I don't think they will set any pulses racing.

Othello (Kenema) (Oric 48K)

The Oric's thinking time is painfully slow, and to have the computer play itself gets boring very quickly.

Dallas (Cases) (Spectrum 48K)

If you bid high enough, you then start on the rather long-winded process of well development.

Code Break (Christine Computing) (TI99/4A)

Arcade games in TI Basic are bound to be a washout.

Awari (Kenema) (Oric 16K)

The computer's move decisions are made in seconds.

Bridge Master (Bridgemaster) (Spectrum 48K)

There are only the 55 fixed hands, and each hand can only be played one way, but it would need a gargantuan feat of memory to recall the characteristics of each.

Match Wits (Stainless) (TI99/4A)

Good use is made of graphics and sound and the game was fairly absorbing once the barely adequate instructions were fathomed.

Black Box (Stainless) (TI99/4A)

The instruction give full details on the origins of the game, but provide only a few sentences and one example for the complete beginner.

Backgammon (Microdeal) (Dragon 32)

An excellent representation of the game with good presentation on screen.

Three Games For Children (Burslem Computer Centre) (Oric 48K)

The final game appears to be rather out of place on an educational tape.

Word Build (GTM Software) (BBC Model B)

The program was well received by pupils in my local school and the teachers were impressed by the ease with which their own word lists could be substituted.

Words, Words, Words (ASK) (Commodore Vic 20)

While some objects are easy to identify, some are more problematic. Is it a man or a boy, dog or cat and is that really meant to be an ant?

Hide And Seek (ASK) (Commodore Vic 20)

It also offers five grades of difficulty, from hard to super hard (like it!)... The graphics are excellent and the instruction book clear.

Vu-File (Psion) (BBC Model A & B)

The whole file is loaded into working memory, so it is limited in size to 16K, but some very sophisticated methods are used to pack an awful lot in there.

Comp-U-Share (Micromega) (Spectrum 48K)

The file will only store information at the time of share purchase and current details. This allows now-and-then comparisons to be made, but you will not be able to get any trend analysis.

Key Trainer (Kenema) (Oric 16K)

Contains eight exercises in using the keyboard, of progressively difficulty, sort of.

Beebsynth (Clares) (BBC Model B)

I spent many happy hours trying it out and annoying the dog with a selection of high-pitched discordant musical sounds.

Mission Mercury (Virgin Games) (Commodore Vic 20)

If Virgin can keep up the quality, but spice their products up with a little more originality, they should do well in their new venture.

Space Adventure (Virgin Games) (BBC Model B)

Superb graphics... The only problem I had with Space Adventure was in prising my friends away from it.

PS Pesteroids (PSS) (TI99/4A)

Dedicated asteroids addicts will probably find this game too slow and easy. But it's worth a try for less skilled gamers.

99 Vaders (Stainless) (TI99/4A)

Good graphics, and the movement is fast for TI Basic.

Bug Bomb (Virgin Games) (BBC Model B)

Screen layout was simple, with good use of colour and sound, and the keys were very responsive.