Playing an adventure takes time. Do you want to be glued to your Amiga, unable to take a coffee break in case you lose the thread of what you are doing? You do? Then you will not go far wrong if you play Jinxter, written by Magnetic Scrolls and distributed by Rainbird.

Jinxter has been around for a short while, but it is only by spending many hours at the keyboard that I can judge it. Previous games from the same source, The Pawn and The Guild of Thieves, had an enormous amount of hype and publicity applied to them. Good games they were, but somewhat overrated by all the talk of wonderful parsers and great graphics.

Jinxter has some great pictures to see along the way, but also secretes some solid classical puzzles for you to solve. It is not a terribly difficult game, but will keep you guessing for a time, even if you decipher all the clues in the smart package.

The action takes place in Aquitania, on a world not so very different from ours. There are buses to run you over and telephones to ring at the most inappropriate moments. There are fairground roundabouts and trains to miss. Magicians, Green Witches and immortal Guardians. The Guardians generally watch out for people's safety and well being. They seem to have a penchant for herringbone suits and live on cheese sandwiches. The Green Witches have been a thorn in the side of the Guardians for as long as anyone can remember. Their aim is to cause as much bad luck to all as possible.

Many years ago a magician called Turani created a magic charm bracelet which would inhibit the powers of the witches. Although they cannot destroy the bracelet while it is whole, the witches have managed to bribe certain members of the public to remove its individual charms. It is now so devoid of protection that the chief witch, Jannedor, is almost in a position to destroy its powers entirely. The less charms the bracelet has, the more bad luck the witches have to spread around and the more work there is for the Guardians. They are now very short of manpower so have selected you to be their agent. You must find the missing charms to the bracelet and re-assemble it to restore its magical power.

Moments after you have had this explained to you, you get a telephone call for help from an old friend, Xam. It later turns out that Xam has realised what is happening and has already tried to rescue the magic charms from their new owners. The Green Witches found out and have kidnapped him. While you are saving the world, you may as well rescue Xam as well.

The game starts with you travelling home by bus. Check your inventory, look around and just retain your wits and you will shortly be walking through your front door. Check out your house thoroughly and collect anything you think will be useful. You can carry quite a lot with you, and there is no point in having to come back unless you have to. In this game you can look under things.

During the first half of Jinxter you travel by reasonably conventional means and can move freely backwards and forwards between locations, so don't panic if you realize you have left something vital behind. Into the second half it may be quicker to start again.

Your first task is to get to Xam's house. The farmer has put a ferocious-looking bull in the field you usually cross on your way there. What don't you usually do to bulls? Xam's house is a mess, he is not the neatest of people. Perhaps you can find some clues for useful items to help you on your quest.

From here there are a few side trips before you finally cross the lake to the village. By this time you will have found a number of useful things, think carefully of what you want to carry on from here, and visit the Clockmaker last.

You are now into the second half of the game and the pace hots up; be prepared to run if you have to. Once in the Green Witches' castle you are nearly there. With a bit of luck you may find Xam and finish what you came to do. Just stay clear of Jannedor - she's decidedly lethal.

Jinxter is well thought out and has reams of atmospheric text. The graphics are excellent and well sprinkled throughout the game. The parser is Magnetic Scrolls' specialty and is very good, even though it is sometimes frustrating trying to be clever enough to match up to it.

You may have some oil with you and want to oil some rusty door runners. OIL RUNNERS is not good enough, you have to be very explicit: OIL RUNNERS WITH OIL is what it expects from you. There are a number of occasions where such dumb loyalty to its cause can cause similar frustration.

This is only a minor irritation. The only real problem with clever parsers is that sometimes they allow you to be too clever for your own boots. One example is the mousetrap. If you want to use it, just drop it; don't try to place it somewhere special. I tried to be clever and it took me ages to realize that the direct approach was all that was needed.

Magnetic Scrolls does not yet have an OOPS command, so SAVE your game position often, not because you may die suddenly but simply so that you can return in time to get something you may have forgotten.

Jinxter is good fun and is suitable for adventurers whatever their experience. A number of coded clues are provided, that offer help - but do not tell all - to those in need of a helping hand.