Naming and gaming

Simsala is Tivola's land of fairytale, where the stories of the brothers Grimm come to cartoon life. The tales are told interactively - the story doesn't move on until you have clicked on one of the 'hotspots' that enliven each frame. The stories also feature non-traditional additions such as cartoon animals who comment and take part in the action. In the latest Simsala adventure, Rumpelstiltskin (Windows/ Mac, CD-Rom, Tivola, 19.99), two distinctly unmedieval creatures called Doc Croc and Yoyo appear alongside the usual cast of Miller, Miller's daughter, King and malevolent goblin with unusual name. There's also a baddie called Sir Randolph who roughs up the miller's daughter - rather too graphically on one occasion -and steals the King's gold. His function seems to be to exonerate the king from the charge of greed. Impoverished by this rascally knight, the king needs the gold to help his hungry subjects. These days, it seems, you can't have the heroine marrying someone who just likes immeasurable wealth for its own sake.