Play your cards right - and you could beat your Electron at this guessing game by Ian Cooper

In HIGHER OR LOWER you play the Electron at cards. Reminiscent of the popular television card game, it's easy to learn, simple to play - but hard to win.

There are three main parts to the program. The first deals with the instructions. These are displayed before each game, explaining the rules, how the controls work and also giving a choice of having the sound on or off.

Next comes the game proper. Twenty four cards are drawn on screen, half with red backs and half with yellow.

Also two text windows are set up, the red one dealing with the red cards and, logically, the yellow with the yellow cards.

A card is turned over and the player is asked if he wants to change it. If he does he presses Y, if not he presses N.

Then the micro asks if the player thinks the next card will be higher or lower in value. He presses H or L in reply.

If the player is right then a tune is played and the process repeated until an error is made.

Once this happens (beware, the same value card is counted as wrong) the player is told his score and the Electron takes its turn.

The micro does exactly the same as the player, but uses the yellow-backed cards. When it makes an error the game is over and the program goes onto the third and final stage, the results.

Here the scores of player and micro are compared and the winner (if any) is dult congratulated with a tune and message. There is then the option of finishing or having another go.

Help Martin and Mavis out of their predicament in M. P. O'Donnell's fast-moving maze game

Mavis Mole, Martin the manic mole's girlfriend, has been wrongly arrested for leaking documents to the newspapers.

Help Martin collect the eleven jewels needed for her bail by guiding him through a maze of melting platforms, ice, holes, conveyor belts and invisible platforms.

In each room is a single jewel. When you have collected this a door to the next will open. You'd better be quick though. There's not much time, so get cracking!

By Jason Cann

Life's not easy for Derek. He was quite happily sailing along on the SS Database when he was attacked by Captain Pinkbeard, of the pirate ship Redwood.

Derek's crew were taken prisoner and all his treasure became the pirate's booty.

That night Captain Pinkbeard and his buccaneers got drunk to celebrate their victory. And for entertainment they decided to test out Derek's mathematical ablities.

They'd ask him some questions and, if he got them right, his ship, crew and treasure would be returned.

But if he got five or more wrong he'd have to walk the plank and feed the sharks.

This is where you, as Derek, come on the scene. Get the answers wrong and he'll go for a sharky swim. But answer them correctly and he could live to be eighty!

Carl Dunkley's explosive game

Is life getting boring? Do you feel the need to spice it up with a little danger? Well, why not try Carl Dunkley's game TIME-BOMB?

The object is simple. You have to collect all the TNT mines, and so gain points, before the timer reaches zero and they explode, taking you with them.

As you move around the screen you'll destroy all the blocks that you come into contact with. Don't worry if you leave one edge of the screen, you'll re-appear at the opposite side.

The block you are currently on is capable of sliding horizontally into an empty space, but it doesn't move vertically. If you do try to move it this way your Electron will ignore you.

You can obtain more points by eating the fruit scattered around the screen, but will lose a life if you run into a skull. A bonus man is awarded every 10,000 points.

You'll need a lot of luck and skill to beat the high score.

All REMs can be safely omitted from the listing if you wish.

In case you're wondering, *FX 200,1 disables the ESCAPE key while *FX202 forces CAPS LK.

Game Controls:
< - Left, &rt; - Down, A - Up, Z - Down
SPACE - Pause On/Off