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A game of pool usually entails consuming large quantities of beer whilst playing in some smoky pub.

OCP has come to the rescue of both lungs and liver and has produced Video Pool..

The screen gives an aerial view of the pool table with six pockets which you can change from small to large size. The game offers three variations of pool - none of which are played according to the rules. For starters, there are only six numbered balls with the corresponding numbers on each of the pockets.

The three variations range from easy - where you have to pot the balls in any order into any of the pockets; a slightly harder version where the balls have to be potted numerically; and lastly a game where you have to pot the balls numerically into the correspondingly numbered pockets.

You gain an extra shot for each correctly potted ball and lose a life for a foul shot or wrong pot.

Video Pool is certainly worth playing despite the obvious dissimilarities with the real game. The movement of the balls is fast, smooth and flicker-free and the direction of the cue ball towards the cursor, positioned on the cushion, is accurate.

Clare Edgeley