Suds is a text adventure game in which you play the part of a would-be soap opera star. You have to try and make your way from the boredom of your Yorkshire farmhouse to the glittering prizes that await you in the Dead End of London.

In Part One, you start off in the farmhouse and have to make your way to the station to board the train that will take you to your first destination - the mean streets of Manchester.

In Part Two, you have to survive the perils if Abdication Street and the TV studio before going on to...

Part Three where the Cross Eyes Motel and the mad arsonist await you. If you are successful then it's on to Part Four - the fabled Dead End of London and who knows what fate has in store for you.

Parts One and Two are on side one of the cassette and parts Three and Four are on side two. They are loaded by typing CHAIN and then either "SUDS1", "SUDS2", "SUDS3" or "SUDS4" and then pressing RETURN and starting the cassette. A title screen will appear within a couple of seconds and then the game proper will be loaded. If your cassette does not do it automatically, stop the tape when it has loaded.

The computer is your eyes and ears. What happens depends entirely on what actions you can take. The computer tells you in which direction you can move and say you want to go north you just type in GO NORTH or NORTH or just N. It's always best to EXAMINE everything you come across - there might be a clue or something hidden. You do this by typing in EXAMINE FROG, or whatever.

REDESCRIBE or R for short will recap on the location you are in.
INVENTORY or I will tell you what you are carrying or wearing.
GET or TAKE to grab an object. DROP to get rid of it.
Some objects you can WEAR or REMOVE.
HELP might, or might not, give you a clue if you are stuck.
The computer can understand a lot more words but you will have to find them for yourself.
One command which adventures might find useful is LOCATION which gives you your current location number and can be used in helping make a map of the playing area. Another is SCORE which gives you an idea of how well you are progressing in that particular game. You can achieve 100 per cent in each part.

You may from time-to-time want to save your position in a game so that you can come back to it later. It's particularly handy if you think you are about to get bumped off! Just type in SAVE and press RETURN. The computer will ask you for a filename - call it anything you like, e.g. "SAVED1" then press RETURN. Use a blank tape to record the position.

To re-load a saved position, type in LOAD and press RETURN. The computer will ask you for the filename. Type it in and then replay the recorded position. The game will restart from where you left it.

If you get stuck in an adventure, there are many people who are eager to help you out. Many of the computer magazine have adventure columns which are choc-a-block with tips and hints for the many games available.

Some of the best for the BBC and Electron are:

Electron User - a very good column written by Pendragon which contains tips and maps of adventures. If you have got an Electron this is indispensable.

Micro User - more specifically aimed at the BBC user. The Mad Hatter writes an adventure column full of tips and general advice.

The Elk Adventure Club is a new venture with a regular magazine and many club offers and advice services. Send an sae to 2 The Beeches, Tibury, Essex RM18 8ED for full details.

SCREEN: If you don't like the blue and white screen layout just press BREAK and it will revert to a normal blue and white screen.

COMING NEXT: American Suds is the sequel to this program. Check with us for release details.