The Plot

The pig-breeding season is once more at an end and Eadwig Addlethorpe has turned to his other passion at this time of year: growing tulips. Eadwig's garden is not like any you will have seen before, for he is relentlessly pursued around the trellises he erects by last year's crop of borlotti beans - and there are deadly giant bees roaming the area too. Thankfully Eadwig has devised an innovative method of dealing with these problems: quantum gardening.

For any event at which there could be more than one possible outcome, the universe splits into two or more alternate realities. In one universe, team A might win the Interstellar croquet tournament; in the other it will be won by team B. Sometimes we even make a choice as to which of these alternate realities we should enter - should we take that new job as a yodelling dumpling arranger or stay in our present situation as a blancmange flinging trebuchet operator? Other events such as the weather seem random and out of our control.

Eadwig, however, has discovered that he has the ultimate power to decide which future alternate reality he enters - decisions which would not, on the face of it, be his to make. He may have a choice between a future where snails attack his plant, or one where it rains all day and the snails decide to go snorkelling instead. In order to ensure the best results Eadwig simply chooses to enter the version of the future where his plants thrive. It's free, completely organic, and no pygmies are harmed in the process.

The Game

Eadwig can move up and down fixed ladder positions, and left and right where platforms exist. In addition, he can lay down new sections or remove old ones at will. Any rainfall which lands on the platforms will run laterally until it encounters a gap in the platforms - in this way rain may be directed onto Eadwig's plant, usually located at the bottom of the screen.

The universe is splitting all the time and Eadwig can see the choices before him in the form of a board game surrounding the main play area. Dice drop from the top of the screen, and Eadwig chooses which alternate reality he enters by selecting one. For example, should he pick up the die which has landed on a 5, his position will move 5 places around the board, whereas collecting the die showing 3 will progress him 3 places. Each square he lands on represents an alternate universe with a different effect, represented by the icon on the square. Spiders take care of pests, trowells are handy for digging in hamster jam fertiliser, and rain makes plants grow.

Be wary of snails. As for the other symbols... well, you'll have to work those out for yourself.

After every two levels Eadwig reaches a bonus stage where he can increase his revenue.

Ultimately, Eadwig's choices lead him towards a more chaotic and disordered universe and this manifests itself on later levels.

Grab a joystick and challenge a friend to a game. Can you choose to enter the reality where your friend loses all his lives on the first screen?