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Rings of the Magi
 Rings of the Magi is a logic/strategy game played on a virtual board with coloured counters or rings. The brief introduction explains that in playing the game you are an apprentice learning the secrets of the Rings in order to expel an ancient enemy from the land of Ac'Rianed. This background is just a bit of embroidery so it isn't essential to the abstract nature of the game. Perhaps you could make use of it to excuse your tardiness when you sit too long playing with the coloured rings and ignore all your chores ... saving the land is important, after all.
The game is very nicely presented. The opening screen allows different players to log in and after you make your choice a room with a desk appears with the game board highlighted on it. Just select the board and you're on your way. There are six levels of progressive difficulty (plus a custom level) running from Candidate through Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Adept and finally Master. Each level has 50 games and you can start wherever you like.
The game is mouse controlled and the concept is simple. Remove all the rings from the board and you win J. The trick is that they will only disappear when they are adjacent to a ring of the same colour. Also, movement is limited - an arrow indicates which way they can be moved (if at all) and the whole row or column moves rather than individual rings, so you have to survey the whole picture to identify any possible conflicts.
 The beginning level is pretty straightforward but it does get tougher. Although there is no variation in the type of game the layout of each board is different with different combinations of colours. Because you do need at least two of the same colour to remove rings from the board you'll soon learn to count up the colours to be sure you don't end up with a solitary ring that can't be matched and removed. The game will alert you if you make this mistake and there is a 'solve' button if you despair altogether.
Rings of the Magi holds a good challenge and is quite addictive. I keep going back to complete just one more game and usually end up overstaying my allocated time. I can't vouch that it's a totally new idea, I think I've played something at least very similar before, but it is absorbing. It's the sort of game you can have sitting on your hard drive ready to tinker with every now and then for a bit of fun and relaxation. To purchase this game on-line visit MVP Software and also check out their range of other puzzle, card games and children's software.
Copyright © Rosemary Young 2001.
All rights reserved.
System Requirements:
IBM PC or compatible computer (P200 or better recommended), Win 95 or higher, 32 MB RAM, 1MB or better Graphics Card, Mouse.
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