MACHINES: C64/128 disk (£24.99), Atari ST; Amiga; Apple II; Mackintosh, IBM PC (£29.99)
SUPPLIER: Activision/Infocom

The schooner Lafond Deux is heading for the West Indies, supposedly taking you to visit your ailing father. But before reaching her destination, she is attacked by pirates, and Captain Davis is only too eager to hand a beautiful young lady like yourself over to them.

Narrowly escaping the clutches of the randy pirate Crulley, you are rescued by the pirate captain, the dreaded Falcon. Your father, it turns out, has commissioned The Falcon to rescue him from a dungeon in which he has been incarcerated by King Lafont. He sends you a letter begging you to trust The Falcon.

All this takes place at the beginning of the game, and there is very little else to do but to sit back and read the text, and press RETURN every now and again. But soon the player finds herself able to control her actions, and the game proper gets under way.

There is, of course, a place for easy adventures - after all, everyone has got to start somewhere.

Plundered Hearts, written by new Infocom Storyteller, Amy Briggs, is too romantic for my tastes but should suit beginners.