MACHINE: Spectrum 48K
SUPPLIER: Spectrum Adventure Exchange Club. Available by mail-order from the above at: 4 Kilmartin Lane, Carluke, Lanarkshire, ML8 5RT.
PRICE: £5.00 inc P&P

The plot of Castle Thade is, shall we say, "uncluttered." You have to reach the castle. Finding that the castle is in plain view from the first location, things look pretty easy.

Wrong. Between you and your goal is a large black river, coming down from the mountains to the south, and going over a waterfall ahead. We probably aren't going to get over the river, so there's got to be another way.

That large boulder there looks a bit suspicious - let's try moving it. Hurruuurph! Ah ha! Eventually it rolls away disclosing a cave entrance.

Well, this doesn't seem too bad, does it? Despite the dreadful white on blue text, the game seems friendly enough. The descriptions are quite long and well written (the punctuation is a little questionable) and there's a fast response, too.

Unfortunately, the game goes downhill rather rapidly after that. It's Quilled, so the most common response to a command is YOU CAN'T. I followed the recently discovered path beyond the boulder, and lying on the floor was a torch. Whenever you find a source of light, you can bet you'll soon be plunged into darkness.

After a further thirty minutes, I still couldn't get it working. Had there been no battery or oil, I could have understood, but with no explanation as to WHY, my patience waned at an alarming rate.

If you are the first to complete this game, you win a Microvitec 1431 MZ STD RES colour monitor for your Spectrum. I can only recommend it to those in need of either that monitor or a dose of frustration!

Castle Thade is produced by The Spectrum Adventure Exchange Club, which arranges monthly 'swaps' between members, for a £1.25 handling charge, and promises a monthly newsletter.

Adventure Exchange Club
£5.00

Win a colour monitor it you can solve the coded message at the end of this competition adventure. Your task is to free the Land of Kral from the Lord of Darkness by entering his domain (the fortress of the title).

Actually this terribly unoriginal plot is irrelevant, because it's an excuse for loads of entertaining, tricky puzzles to be assembled as a test for more advanced adventurers. Plenty of often ingenious sticky situations, with some infuriating mazes thrown in. Another particularly likable touch is the inclusion of a useful RAM SAVE/LOAD command.

The most impressive feature of the game however is the text; at times astonishingly verbose and lengthy for what is, after all, a Quilled Spectrum game. Atmospheric, descriptive, and important to read - vital clues to problems are burled deep within...

Something had to suffer to fit it all in memory; unfortunately this was vocabulary and messages. The former is very tight (a common flaw in Quilled products), whilst the lack of the latter makes play less fun and harder - an unresponsive EXAMINE command for example. somewhat counteracts the brilliance of the text. You seem to be able to do very little apart from what is necessary to solve the game.

Castle Thade is a surprisingly worthy product (when I first saw the amateur presentation, my heart sank). The puzzles and text are excellent, sadly marred by the points I've mentioned. Still, sensibly cheap and recommended to the hardened adventurer. Available mail order only, from: 4 Kilmartin Lane, Carluke. Lanarkshire ML8 5RT. Incidentally. I'll be looking at the services offered by the club who produced this next issue.