Producer: Alligata
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £6.95
Language: Machine code
Author: Elliot Gay and David Thorpe

This is a pretty unconventional game by any standards, the player does not play against the computer but against fellow beings, the more the better.

The program simulates a day out match fishing beside a very attractive lake. (Drawn by David Thorpe see issue 17). The game caters for up to eight fisherpersons all of whom must enter their names at the start. The computer will ask how for long you want the match to last and you can select any period between 1 and 90 minutes. The program next allocates each player a peg number and describes in detail the conditions of the bank and surrounding waters. For example, the player who draws peg 7 is told that his section has two large trees adjacent to him and the water, which is only between seven and twenty feet deep, has a lot of leaves and twigs on the surface. To a fisherperson I suppose that this would suggest the use of a luminous hook and a torch but whatever tackle you decide on you must choose the most appropriate from the tackle section.

You are offered a choice of rods, floats, reels, lines, baits and hooks. At this stage you must specify the type of cast strong, medium or weak. When all of the players have selected what they assume to be the most appropriate tackle we can move onto the actual fishing.

A page of instructions explains that all of the contestants must gather round the computer. They will be shown a picture of the lake with the eight pegs around it. When a player's peg flashes it means that a fish has taken the bait and the player whose peg it is must dash to the computer and press the appropriate number to strike. The picture changes to show a little chap sitting on the bank with a fish moving towards the line, when it reaches it you press SPACE and hope that the tackle you selected is up to the fish you are trying to catch. At any stage during the wait you can ask to see your peg description and change tackle if required.

At the end of the time period the results are displayed. Each player's name is printed to the screen in an order dependent on the total weight of fish caught. Displaying the total weight of fish caught neatly avoids those traditional, arms outstretched arguments about the ones that got away.

SILLY WARNING Please don't take Your Spectrum near the water's edge, it could prove harmful and may be dangerous.

COMMENTS

Control keys: 1 to 8 and space
Joystick: N/A
Keyboard play: N/A
Use of colour: very good
Graphics: superb view of the lake, others indifferent
Sound: very little
Skill levels: 1
Lives: N/A
Screens: 2 effectively

Fishing has got to be one of the most difficult sports to simulate and I think this program manages to capture the tactical and technical aspects rather well. The view of the pool is superb and it's quite fun just to sit in front of it and relax, just graphics of the fisherman on the river bank are (forgive me) another kettle of fish - a little on the simple side but they are colourful and effective enough. The blurb that came with the game stressed the importance of a group of players rather than just one or two. On the whole an interesting and well designed program.

The game manages to be quite realistic. You are told the conditions of your peg including details of water speed and light and if there any weeds about. While I am interested in fishing I do not consider myself an expert but the game certainly seemed to pose the sort of problems that any match fisherman would have to face, interesting for anglers.

The only time I remember doing anything that could be classed as 'fishing' was a rather wet couple of days on the South coast wondering if the bait on one end of the line was as bored as I was on the other! But based on my rather limited experiences, I'd have to say Match Fishing was a fairly faithful simulation... unfortunately.

You can have up to eight players, each fishing a specific section of the river - each player is provided with information about the depth and state of the water and is asked to choose equipment. Now comes the exciting part...

Just joking! The display changes, showing you all the players on-screen for the fish to turn up. If a fish happens along, a number flashes on the shore and you have to press the equivalent number on the keyboard. All exciting stuff...

Alligata recommends that players should gather round the Speccy at a distance of one metre. I'd recommend a longer distance - perhaps a mile and a half. Check it out if fish are your things. 2/5 MISS

Roger: Match Fishing is probably the most boring game in the world - I can't think why it wasn't a leading contender for Firebird's Don't Buy This. Tackle this one if you dare! 1/5 MISS

Ross: You know the way fish look? - you know, bored to tears - well, that's how I looked after just five minutes with this game. 1/5 MISS

Publisher: Alligata
Price: £7.95
Memory: 48K

It had to happen. It was about the only sport hitherto unsullied by the attentions of computer programmers. We refer, of course, to the noble art of the angler, or, to give its title in full spin-off rent-a-celebrity glory, Jack Charlton's Match Fishing.

Any computer version should reflect the numbing boredom so beloved by anglers, and to an extent Match Fishing succeeds. You play with up to eight fishermen, or on your own. You are allocated a 'peg' - a section of water to fish - and must choose the appropriate tackle, rod and bait for the spot and the species you reckon might live there. You also choose how far to cast.

Having chosen your tackle you watch an idyllic screen of lake, mountains and green banks. When a bite is registered, you lunge forward to press the number of your peg, to 'strike' the fish. If in time, a cartoon-like sequence involves a fish swimming towards the line.

As a solitaire game, only the dedicated angler is likely to enjoy Match Fishing. With several players, and the inevitable scramble for keys if fish are biting, the game becomes more fun.

The problem is that if you don't know anything about fishing you won't get much out of the game. And the dedicated angler, who might enjoy the game greatly, is going to be spending his spare time out there with the midges and the stinky maggots and the dead swans and the crate of Newcastle Brown.