The Oracle (Peacock) (Sinclair ZX81)

You tell the ZX81 your name, select a question from the menu, and then concentrate hard on a number of patterns it offers you, before choosing the one you "respond" to. That's it.

Shirley Conran's Magic Garden (Acornsoft) (BBC Model B)

A picture is worth a thousand words... This program has no pictures at all.

Enigma (Work Force) (Spectrum 48K)

The biggest fault, however, was that the results of each trial with a tracer were lost, and had to be jotted down on paper or set up on the Black Box board.

Devil's Revenge (Work Force) (Spectrum 48K)

Explore a maze-like adventure playground... Fail a random test and you go right back to the start.

Pirate Island (Work Force) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

The text was sufficiently expressive to create the necessary atmosphere, but the trick of drawing a 'curtain' down over the screen before showing the next location is irritating.

Plegaron People Eaters (RH Electronics) (BBC Model B)

Reasonably addictive... and quite enjoyable, but uninspiring.

Greedy Gobbler Plus Blowing Up The World (Jupiter Cantab) (Jupiter Ace)

A tedious, silly game in which keys 1 to 8 bear a rather vague relationship to "bombs" which are released at various points on a Mercator projection.

Sabotage (Macronics) (Sinclair ZX81)

The chain-reaction effect of boxes detonating is pleasing.

Firefleet (English) (Atari 400)

By skillfully positioning the cruiser above obstacles, the player can blast them sky-high with two on-board laser cannons.

Ten All-Time Greats For Your Jupiter Ace (Joseph Nicholson) (Jupiter Ace)

What really is great about these programs is the skill with which they are written; you'll have no problem using VLIST to study this.

Database (Gemini) (BBC Model B)

The database performed its tasks well, though the printout of the file was not user-designable.

Super Catalog/The Filing Clerk (Home Entertainment) (Atari 400/800)

The screen display is not as clear as I would like although it is adequate for the purpose.

Wordsworth (Ian Copestake) (BBC Model B)

A clever and complex program which will probably become indispensible over the long term for its users.

Superfile (Byteware) (Commodore 64)

The maximum number of records possible depends on the size of the fields... An average sized record seems to allow about 100 records overall.

Grasp (Camel) (Spectrum 48K)

An immensely powerful piece of software.

Time (Stell) (Spectrum 48K)

A well-designed example/question combination makes this an effective educational program.

Chattermaths (Currah) (Commodore Vic 20)

A nice program which could however stand some improvement.

Chattercount (Currah) (Commodore Vic 20)

The use of graphics was good, and emphasis was placed on objects which appeal to young children.

Educational 1 (Golem) (BBC/Electron)

The value of memory training is often underrated, yet it is a fundamental skill of both reading and writing.

Geometry (Camel) (Spectrum 48K)

There's very little here more than the traditional textbook seen in most schools.

Lunar Rescue (Alligata) (BBC Model B)

Very responsive... A fast and furious game.

Godzilla And The Martians (Temptation) (Spectrum 16K)

The sound is quite cute, but the speed of the program fails to keep excitement going.

Cybertanks (Star Dreams) (Spectrum 48K)

Keys are easy to operate, the response is good and the program is compatible with the Kempston joystick.

Trax (Soft Joe's) (Commodore 64)

Control of the train is difficult at first, but can be mastered with practice.

Killer Kong (Blaby) (Spectrum 48K)

The game starts automatically so that if you're not quick off the mark you lose a life immediately. Very irritating.

Grand Slam (B. J. Flynn) (TI99/4A)

Grand Slam is a long way from the original concept of Bridge and is of little value to the good player or complete novice.

Duel (Byteware) (TI99/4A)

The program is entertaining, highly absorbing and very well-thought-out and presented, with good graphics and colour.

Bandit (Byteware) (Spectrum 48K)

A fair simulation of a fruit machine which I think could have been made better.

Five-a-Side Soccer (Texas Instruments) (TI99/4A)

The graphics are excellent with the pitch represented perfectly and the teams accurate with moving legs and arms.

Yahtzee (Byteware) (BBC Model B)

A lot of luck is involved... Overall presentation isn't special - the dice don't look like dice for a start!