Leisure Genius
£19.99 cass only

The Triple Pack is a compilation of three of the world's favourite board games - Monopoly, Cluedo and Scrabble. Each game has been released before, but this is the first time they've been brought together in one package. And quite fun it is too, provided you can find a couple of friends to join in.

Each game follows its parent very closely: Monopoly sees you battling it out with up to three other players to rent, buy and mortgage as many properties as possible with £1,500 as your initial allowance - but fortunes can wane as well as flourish when you land on the wrong squares where you can be sent to jail, be taxed or take a gamble with the Chance or Community Chest cards.

Cluedo sees you turning into Sherlock Holmes as you choose to play one of the six characters who have to investigate the murder of the mysterious Mr Black with six weapons up for scrutiny and game end when one of the players names the murderer, the weapon used and where in the house the foul deed took place.

Scrabble has you struggling to spell words like ambidexterous and xenomorph, plus shorter ones merely typed XXXX here. Dictionary obligatory.

Graphically and sonically The Tripple Pack isn't anything to shout about: it's all pretty basic. Playability is the most important factor, and with a few mates present this is quite entertaining.

A neat compilation that never quite overcomes the community fun of the board games transposed.

MARK [65%]

Ooo! All those brill board games you got for Christmas and lost all the pieces to the first time you played have now come onto the Spectrum. This new triple pack includes the family favourites and all been released separately before, so there's nothing exactly new and exciting in the package. Each game has very basic graphics and sound, as they were all made in the days of 48K only Spectrums. Cluedo is about the best of the bunch, but on this it gets a bit awkward when you have to disguise part of the screen from other players with your hand! The games are all faithful conversions of the classic originals and if you get together with a few friends you can have lots of fun with them without a small metal shoe or a candle stick being stuck under the sofa! Have fun.
NICK [69%]

Leisure Genius
£19.99 cass
Reviewer: Richard Morris

These computer conversions of board games have been around for ages now, though we still can't really see the point. If you've got loads of friends wouldn't the original incarnation be more fun? And if you haven't, why not play something originally designed for one player?

Anyway, Cluedo, Scrabble and Monopoly are normally £9.99 apiece, but now you can get the complete set for the price of two. Barg or what? But hold on! Scrabble used to be included in the freebie set of games that came with the Speccy, so a lot of you will have got it already. That rather ruins the party! Still, here's a backward glance at the relative merits of each game.

MONOPOLY

Monopoly undoubtedly ranks as a classic. It's still the world's biggest selling board game and probably the greatest cause of domestic violence this side of Trivial Pursuit. As a computer simulation it's a case of spot the difference as amateur tycoons drift in and out of jail amidst the clamour to buy up London streets. There's the added pleasure of the one-player game which enables you to carry on buying up everything in sight long after everyone else has had enough, but its a shame you don't get the feel of that huge wad in your hands and the verbal abuse that should accompany even the smallest rent transaction. A faithful reproduction it maybe, but nothing quite beats squatting on the living room floor and throwing hotels at your granny.

CLUEDO

Cluedo is another Waddingtons original and brought to the small screen more or less intact, with you playing a detective amid the confusion of an apparently motiveless murder. So who did the dastardly deed? The answer should become apparent as you move from room to room pointing the finger of accusation at the likes of the rather voluptuous Miss Scarlet. Graphically it's good, and in fact the pace of play is, if anything faster than the original which may help its appeal to those of you who aren't already keen Cluedo fans.

The game which has everyone secretly reaching for their dictionaries in search of the most ridiculous adjectives possible, Scrabble retains its almost total lack of visual appeal in the computer version. There's a choice of a one to four player games, though the latter seems a bit pointless as your letter rack is displayed on the screen in full view of your opponents. No problem when you take on the computer alone (of course), though it gets a bit frustrating when your go seems to take at least 20 times longer than your rather-too-clever electronic adversary.

All in all some competent replicas of very popular games, though there's not much new on offer save the option of playing alone.

When I was given Virgin's Leisure Genius pack of Scrabble, Monopoly and Cluedo I thought, ruddy marvellous, all me old fave board games to play in the office, with the added fun of playing them on screen.

But unfortunately, it all proved to be a bit pooey, and not much fun at all, a bit disappointing really. Call me a moaning Minnie (you're a moaning Minnie - rest of SU team) but it seems a lot bloody easier and quicker to wop a Monopoly board on the carpet, dosh out the counters and paper money, roll the dice to see who goes first and then get on with it. What could be simpler?

None of this faffing about, having to read a book full of instructions on how to play the damn thing - something you thought you'd got the hang of years ago. Anyway, grizzles out of the way - what did I think of this jolly trio.

CLUEDO

When I was a "yoof" I remember many a holiday whiled away playing Cluedo. God knows why, there's absolutely nothing to it, but it's just one of those game that are simple enough for the whole family to play (however simple the family are) without being too mindless.

You all know the idea; the board represents the floor plan of a mysterious mansion, in which the owner Dr Black has been murdered. Up to six players take the parts of house guests Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum and so on; your task is to establish the murderer, weapon used, and the location of the crime.

The computer version is a very faithful representation of the game, complete with the floor-plan, Murder Cards, and a window for each player's notes, which you have to cover with your hand each time you want to refer to it!

Players take turns to throw the dice, move around the board, and make suggestions; the computer keeps track of who holds which cards, and if you fail to show cards when requested, it kicks you out of the game (hyuck hyuck!) Classic fun, well implemented; should keep the whole family quiet for at least the duration of Billy Smart's Christmas Circus.

SCRABBLE

The board on screen is set out much the same as the usual carboardy one, but unfortunately, it's all black and white - no jolly coloured squares to indicate word scores etc. Instead you get a black, grey and white boxes (see key), and seeing as most people can't be bothered to keep looking at the key you tend to just plonk your word anywhere, regardless of scoring extra points. When I played Scrabble it was just me against the computer, but you can play it with up to four players. When it's your go, seven letter tiles appear at the bottom of the screen. Try to make a word with these letters.

To help you sort the letters out you can press 7 and the computer will juggle them about for you. I'd rather have those little plastic tiles in front of me to juggle - seeing them move around on screen didn't help me find new words at all. Alternatively, if you're a bit lazy you can press 8 and the computer will suggest words for you, but that seems to defeat the object really. If you really don't like the letters you've been given you can press 6 and change some, or all, of your tiles. Remember though, this counts as a go, so you miss a turn.

To make the game a little more racy there's a clock facility to limit the time of each player's turn. The clock can be set from between 10 seconds and 59 minutes 59 seconds (for complete and utter wombats).

One thing I was unhappy about was the fact that each player letters are displayed down the right hand side of the screen, so your opponents can see what you've got and therefore attempt to block your next word.

I don't dislike Scrabble on the Spectrum, but I just feel that it's more fun to play the real thing with board and plastic tiles and little wooden ledge things. but then again I'm just an old-fashioned girlie.

MONOPOLY

When I was a kid (oh gawd, here we go - JD), there was no Trivial Pursuit, no Pictionary or Scruples. If you wanted to play a board game, you played Monopoly or you played nothing, simple as that. AL: Mum, I'm bored. AL'S MUM: Go and play Monopoly (2 hours later) AL: Mum, I finished Monopoly, what can I do now? AL'S MUM: Er, why don't you go and play Monopoly? AL: Oh alright Mum (sigh) And so it went right through my childhood. And now just when I thought it was safe to enter the games room, it's back, back, BACK. Monopoly on the Speccy. It's a pretty good representation of the original game and here's what it looks like.

The top two thirds of the screen displays the board and before you start to play you have to pick a counter (these appear in the bottom third). The choices are the boat, a car, a boot, a hat and an iron. The bank then automatically gives you £1,500 spending money.

Each player in turn presses D for dice, and the dice is rolled to see who goes first. Now you're ready to start playing for real. Roll the dice and your counter moves around the board. The property it lands on is then displayed in the bottom third of the screen and the computer asks if you wish to buy it. Press Y and your account will be debited.

Should a player then land on your property, you must order him to pay you rent, thus boosting your bank account. If you land on a Chance square you may either be awarded cash for say, winning a competition, or cash will be taken away from you for say, school fees. Land on the 'Go to jail' square, and that's exactly where you have to go, and it'll cost you fifty quid to get out. The point of the game is to buy up as much property as possible, and make loads of cash at the same time.

The fact that you can't actually see, by looking at the board, which squares belong to you is a bit annoying. This is kind of remedied by going to the Owner menu (press O). With the actual board game you receive a card for each square you buy, so it's easier to keep a record - less annoying than having to keep flicking screens to and fro.

Monopoly is not as cruddy as I thought it was gonna be, but I really missed having all that lovely coloured paper dosh to wave Mr Money Bags style under your opponents nose when he's sliding towards bankruptcy - look at my wad!!