Defend or die in this fast-action arcade game devised by Anthony Houghton

The Earth is under threat of alien invasion once again and, as ever, it's up to you to beat off an attack by Krellian bug-eyed monsters. Alien spaceships appear out of hyper space and line up in attack formation above the planet's surface. One by one they swoop down, guns ablaze. You control an advanced laser base blessed with an unlimited supply of rapid-fire missiles and your task is to completely wipe out the alien threat.

The keys Z and X move your base left and right while pressing RETURN fires a missile. Several can be fired in rapid succession by constantly tapping RETURN and the best tactic is to mvoe left and right spraying missiles non-stop at the alien attack formation above. If you manage to wipe out the first wave a new one will appear and more ships will swoop down the screen on bombing runs. Keep clear of these if you can.

The game features a high score table set against a scrolling star background to record to top ten players. A large proportion of the listing is in assembly language so enter it with care. The machine code is used to speed up the action and implement the fast moving multi-coloured sprites.

Mike Cook shows how the Electron can help make some interesting and refreshing drinks

Cocktails are always popular at any time of year, so here is a program to help you create new and exciting drinks. Well, to be perfectly honest, some of the creations sound awful, but then, you never know until you try.

In the world of the cocktail bar, the rule is that almost anything goes, so this program is not terribly reticent about what it mixes.

Every cocktail must have its own unique name, so PROC_Name designs one on a modified random basis. The process is open-ended so it can generate extremely long names on occasion. However, they should all be pronounceable - at least before trying the drink. And endless party fun can be had attempting to say the name after having imbibed.

The program classifies drinks according to type, for example spirits, liqueurs, fortified wines and soft drinks. The recipe for the cocktail is generated by choosing a random number of items - maybe zero - from each category.

Some drinks should never be mixed and these are separated into groups in the spirit and liqueur sections. The program will only match group A and B spirits and liqueurs, never drinks from the same group. Basically group A spirits are grain-based and group B spirits grape-based. Similarly group A liqueurs are generally fruit-based with group B being herb-based.

The data statements defining the available ingredients can be modified to remove anything you disapprove of, or to add your own particular favourites. All sections end with a null string which tells the program that the end has been reached. Therefore all you need to do is add or remove items from the data statements in the appropriate section.

That's enough theory, happy mixing.

Warning: It ish an offensh, under the 1876 Home Compu(hic)ter Act, to operate a compu(hic)ter while under the influensh of the prog...