Editorial

It's that time of the year again when the SynTax Contributor of
the Year is announced and this year it is - Alex van Kaam. Well
done, Alex. At the end of last issue it was very close between
Alex, Tom Lorimer and Andrew Wielochowski but in the end Alex's
Net News pushed him just ahead of the others, despite any other
files of theirs I had in hand. Congratulations to all of you; I
hope you'll enjoy your awards and free issues. The competition has
now restarted for the coming year with the winners' points being
zeroed and Carolyn Brown is leading the current list. It's amazing
how quickly the time passes and it won't be long before we do
these awards again.

On a related subject, I am very grateful to those of you who took
notice of my plea for contributions - please keep them coming.
I still have a few for next issue, but more would be a big help
to give a good balance to the mag. I'm still trying to think of
ways to increase the circulation. The front page of the website is
up, but I've been too busy with work to do more to it since. Does
anyone have any more suggestions for what to include on there
apart from the SynDex and the sample version? I certainly don't
want to tread on any regular readers' toes by giving away too
much.

I was on holiday for a week recently, and I installed the Infocom
interpreter onto my Psion 3a so that I could play Zork 1 while I
was away. I've finished the later Zorks, but not that one. It's a
great game and there is still something magical about imagining
your own graphics. I need another holiday now to finish it. It's
also because of the holiday that this issue is late - I'm
determined to be on time NEXT issue!

Flushed with success at finishing Pandora's Box, I've been forging
ahead with some more games. I restarted Callahan's Crosstime
Saloon, a Legend game which (as far as I know) was never released
in the UK. I got my copy through SynTax reader Richard Hart, who
sells software in the States. He runs an advert each issue so do
contact him, especially if you're looking for something out of the
ordinary. I've reviewed the game this issue; it's divided into
several 'acts', which have quite different styles. The first was
very much oriented towards mechanical puzzles - levers and buttons
etc. NOT my favourite type! But by the next section it had turned
into a traditional adventure game and I am enjoying it a lot.

I also installed Shanghai Second Dynasty, which contains several
nice Mah-Jongg variations. It's a good game for picking up for 10
minutes or so, though it's easy to get hooked and find an hour has
passed!

Until next issue, I hope you'll all enjoy the summer weather,
which is finally starting as I write. Enjoy your holidays but keep
adventuring!

                                                      Sue




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