Written by Marmalade, published by Mirrorsoft, Count With Oliver aims to teach your child to attach meaning to numbers, introducing addition and subtraction.

Enormous, beautifully designed graphics show Oliver looking in the toyshop window at teddies, bikes and boats. Count them correctly, and Oliver keeps them. Get it wrong, and after another try, the toys are taken back, Oliver turns puce and cries his eye out. In the more advanced stages different colours of toys are counted. All this accompanied by well-written sound routines.

The second program is very similar, featuring Olivery outside the lolly shop. This time, addition and subtraction are required, even tens and units eventually.

There is no doubt that this is very professional stuff. It is, however, rather over-ambitious. Too much is attempted in two programs for a four year-old to take in at this pace, and the time taken is too long for the average youngster.

Another small but important gripe. The superb packaging offers nothing to the buyer in terms of instructions or convenience. Is this worth the extra £1 and £2?

D.M.