This has got to be the oldest game in TRB so far. Horace and the Spiders was copyrighted in 1983 and it shows.

But it's fun! HatS makes for a perfect 'quick blast for ten minutes' type of game. Even back in 1983 the Horace games couldn't have been described as being a deep or sophisticated game.

It's a game of three levels. None of them are particularly difficult or complex. But they're fun. Level one has you running across a landscape, jumping over spiders and up steps. It's a fairly straightforward level yet it can still get you every now and again. The landscape is blue, with a minimalist feel to the graphics. There's even a vague semblance of parallax scrolling if you squint hard enough. Without your glasses on. Well, maybe not (we are looking at two scrolling lines representing scenery here).

Level two has you needing to get across a large chasm. To do this, you need to jump across various ropes which are operated by the spiders. So the 'ropes' are actually spider gossamer. Jumping across only takes a little time to get used to and then you've completed the level. The spiders and Horace animate reasonably well for a game of this age. It's also the easiest level to play.

The third and final level has you looking at a more traditional platform game. The platforms are made up of gossamer which the spiders are constantly trying to repair.

Here, you have to destroy the spiders. You do this by stomping on the gossamer platform until you fall through and land on the platform below. Hopefully, a spider will crawl across the hole and try to repair it. When the spider is upside down, you can stomp on it. Which destroys the arachnid. Repeat the process a few times and you've completed the level (and therefore the game). The aim is very simple (kill the spiders) but playing has a little more substance.

For example, Horace will continuously move left or right until you tell him otherwise (unlike most games). This keeps you alert, believe me. The spiders don't move in a memorable set path, so you have to be careful. Stomping on a spider or gossamer platform takes four individual jumps so you can't quickly do it.

Once you've completed the level you get an extra anti-spider serum and you're back on level one. Ad infinitum. You don't get a nice 'well done' message or anything. Just the start of level one again.

Now remember this is a game made in 1983, so it's not expected to be as complex, graphically excellent or aurally pleasing as a Speccy game from 1993. It's not a deep game. Nor is it particularly difficult. You're not going to be playing it for hours at a time. But it IS fun to play. Even for the ten minutes you play it every now and again.

And that's Horace's strength. It's a good, fun game which you'll play every now and again. Just like mobile phone games. And that's why it's in this section and not TRB Awards.