Muddle has got tangled in his fishing line and so on. Your job is to make it to the end of each course and rescue them before time runs out. You can play as one of six Mr. Men, each with different characteristics that make each game different, depending on which one you pick. Mr. Impossible, for example, can score points by running through barrels that will just knock Mr. Happy over. In addition, although the obstacles stay in the same place in each game, the other Mr. Men characters move around, so even when you've mastered a particular course, there's plenty of room for surprises. There are two overall difficulty settings (easy and hard) and although each game is essentially the same (use the cursor keys to navigate the course, collect bonuses and special powers and avoid obstacles) the different environments, different Mr. Men and levels of difficulty make this both challenging and rewarding. Even the snakes have smiles on their faces. -Rob Beattie.

Older girls may find that these factors give the game a low replay factor. On the plus side, two players can skate or board at once, and younger girls will find that the cheerful soundtrack and animations are great additions to the snowboarding and in-line skating experience. -Alyx Dellamonica.

When players master enough walkovers and handsprings to earn a high score, they're allowed to attend local, sectional, regional and national competitions where prizes are trophies, new moves to add to their repertoire and, of course, new team outfits. Here's where the cheating came in: at a local competition, we ran our Team Barbie members through their paces and scored 9. 2s and 9. 3s, while our competitors consistently scored 9. 5s and 9. 6s. Despite this, come trophy time, Team Barbie got the gold with a score average that was mysteriously boosted to 9. 4! For this blatant disregard for the lessons of loosing and accurate maths, Barbie Team Gymnastics gets an 8. 3 for style, and a 7. 0 for execution. -Anne Erickson, Amazon. com.

This can get confusing, but careful, deliberate navigation keeps it to a minimum. Any programs that your PC is lacking (QuickTime 5 may be one) are identified and installed with ease and the full-colour instruction booklet included is clear and accurate. The hardest thing of all may be finding the microphone socket for the first time and then trying to convince your 10-year-old S Club 7 nut that you really can't remember where it is the second time. -Lucie Naylor.

Find the secret hiding places where fairies live, discover fairy dust, take photographs, visit the theatre, explore the house where Elsie Wright (of the Cottingley Fairies fame) lived, take part in a quiz, rescue Houdini, make a secret journal and learn lots of interesting and fun facts. Also included are 17 bonus film clips. Accompanying the CD-ROM is a pamphlet for installation instructions, but not much more. These are straightforward, but help may be needed to install QuickTime for Windows on your system. The recommended age is 7-11 years, but "fairy believers" of any age may enjoy the software. The graphics are very good and the commentary and instructions are clear and offer lots of choices. The only distractions are the American spellings. Enid Blyton's St Claire's Friendship Kit Enid Blyton is well known for her tales of Boarding School fun and adventure and these are brought to life in this interactive Friendship Kit. Explore the famous boarding school with twins Pat and Isobelle and meet the other girls Alison, Carlotta, Roberta, and Hilda, and join in the team spirit. Build your own friendship kit, play games, create projects, make a diary for school and home, join St Claire's club, take part in a quiz, design and print personal stationery, keep your secrets safe, and so on. Boarding school life always feature secret parties: this is just so at St Claire's, but if you want to come to the feast, you must fill up the party box first of all by finding the items as you explore the nooks and crannies in the school. Accompanying the CD-ROM is an excellent pamphlet that explains everything about the kit and it should be read before beginning. Installation is comparatively easy, but younger girls may need help. The graphics are bright and colourful and the accompanying music is very catchy. There is no age recommended age but a minimum age is 8-9 years. The package consists of three completely different CD-ROMs which complement each other, offering many and varied experiences. Perfect entertainment that will keep young girls amused for hours. -Susan Naylor.

In this sense, Tonka Space Station is slightly disappointing. The variation between the vehicles is not nearly as wide as it could be, and players accustomed to real-world Tonka products may yearn for more options than steering, shooting and avoiding danger. None of the vehicles, in other words, does anything as amazingly cool as what even the simplest front-loader or backhoe can do. If you can get past that, however, this game is perfect for players who are interested in space sciences and enjoy simpler arcade-style activities. (Ages 5 and up) -Alyx Dellamonica.