This is one of those slide puzzles, the kind that used to be found in Christmas stockings and crackers every year. You start with a picture grid, and all the squares jumbled up; your job is to put them back in order.

Tony: The pictures generated are of a particularly high standard and use colour to the best advantage. But needless to say, they are generally static and. therefore, this is less of a plus. 6/10

John: Having instructed the program to move one of the squares, it shifts to the new position very quickly. Sometimes the response to the player's commands is so good, the wrong section moves. 7/10

Mark: The pictures generated are superb, and the speed of the program is very fast, giving a good response time — apart from when it's jumbling the letters which takes about 15 seconds. 8/10

Producer: DK. Tronics, 48K
£5.95

Another jigsaw puzzle game, but with more pictures than Artic's game offers. The object again is to recreate the original picture from the pieces. The graphics are very good, with plenty of detail and smooth animation. The sound is also excellent, with one or two different tunes for each puzzle. Good instructions. Overall CRASH rating 64%. May be used with Kempston joystick. Machine code.

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K
JOYSTICK: Optional
CATEGORY: Puzzle
SUPPLIER: DK'Tronics
PRICE: £6.95

Remember those flat plastic puzzles in which you had to slide squares around until they were in the right order? Now you can do the same thing on a computer.

Jumbly is a very nice version of the puzzle with the added twist that some of the 10 pictures you have to unscramble are continually scrolling. This means that in their jumbled-up state it's extremely difficult to work out which piece goes where.

Another addition is that you have a target number of moves to solve the puzzle in (initially 150). If you make the target you're supplied with a code which allows you to move on to the next picture.

If you don't make it, you gnash your teeth and try again. I fear that quite a few buyers of Jumbly will do a good deal of teeth-gnashing. For if you hold down a key a fraction of a second too long, you will end up sliding two squares instead of one. You only have to do this a few times to blow any chance of reaching your target

Fortunately you do have the option of peeking at the unscrambled picture you're aiming for. And of stopping the scrolling - although this stops you getting the code when you solve the puzzle.

Anyone who does manage to get through all 10 puzzles will win the right to design a picture for Jumbly II.

But although Jumbly is novel, colourful and slick, at heart it remains a simple puzzle which is made frustrating in a rather artificial way. A bit like asking someone to count to 10 while holding his head submerged in a bucket of glue.

Jumbly is based on the old fashioned slider puzzle game in which a sequence of numbers, letters or a picture must be rearranged correctly. In this rather advanced, computerised version, a number of specially designed pictures are divided into twenty blocks. The computer jumbles the picture by removing a block and sliding the remaining nineteen about in a random manner. The odd block is then replaced once the puzzle has been completed. You then must rearrange the blocks into the correct order using keyboard or joystick.

A target number of moves for each picture is provided; if this target is exceeded, the picture will have to be attempted again. If on the other hand the target is either met or beaten, then the option of going on to the next puzzle is provided. Titles are given to each puzzle, the next one only being given on the completion of the present one. Fortunately, the first three titles are given beforehand, so giving you a headstart.

Some pictures jumble with wrap-around, ie a block can jump off the end of the puzzle board and reappear on the other side so adding another dimension to the game. Another added extra is the cleverly written tune which plays with each puzzle (and can of course be turned off). If and when you complete all the puzzles, there is an opportunity to win £150 by designing your own picture.

Verdict: The pictures are stunning, the graphics are excellent and the sound is fantastic. An old idea has been put to work very neatly and efficiently, whilst also expanding upon it. The game is surprisingly addictive and often frustrating. The graphics are smooth and a pleasure to watch and the game is a delight from a player's point of view as well as the programmer's.