**** Enter SYNTAX to start the program ****

Welcome to a very special PD issue of SynTax disk magazine. As you
can see, it's an adventure-orientated disk magazine for the ST, PC
and Amiga, covering all the different facets of adventure gaming -
text and graphic adventures, RPGs, strategy and simulations etc.
It contains reviews, solutions, hints, articles and a variety of
information files. The magazine is produced bi-monthly, the first
issue, written with STOS, was way back in July 1989 which it only
covered the ST, and still costs the same as it did then - œ3.50 an
issue in the UK/Europe with reductions and special offers if you
take out a year's subscription.

Since 1989, the magazine has gone from strength to strength. A PC
version was added some time ago, thanks to Graham Cluley, who got
fed up with waiting for us to program it!  An Amiga version was
originally produced on an ST disk which ran using an emulator on
the A500. With the advent of the A500+ and A600 as well as the
higher machines, the emulator proved to be incompatible so a
reader, Richard Hewison, wrote a true Amiga version using AMOS.

The SynTax Disk Library was set up to encourage readers to send in
contributions on disk, the idea being that, in exchange, he or she
could pick any PD/Shareware disk from the library to replace the
one sent in. There were just 8 PD and 2 licenceware disks in the
first issue - now there are well over 750 over all formats.  There
is a further incentive to contributors in the form of prizes given
to the top five contributors each year. More on that in the
contributions section.

Games that are covered range from the biggest selling blockbusters
to the more obscure PD titles and the idea is that SynTax is a
magazine for adventurers written by adventurers. The magazine is
posted out all over the world, to locations as far apart as
Singapore, Norway, Poland, Australia and the USA (no readers in
Africa or South America ... yet!)

In putting together this special issue, I have selected files from
the first five years of the magazine, but concentrating on the
last two years, and on the last few issues especially for the
reviews. The information section mostly uses the latest files from
the current issue. Each issue of the magazine contains almost 600K
of text files divided into 5 sections - information, reviews,
articles, solutions and maps, and hints and tips. Long solutions
are serialised over several issues so I've included a few 'part
one' files for you. Most of the maps are converted from paper to
computer by Alex van Kaam in The Netherlands and use PC codes to
show walls, doors etc.

I hope you'll enjoy this selection.  Please write to me for more
information or an order form. Remember, the magazine is just œ3.50
an issue!

Sue Medley, 9 Warwick Road, Sidcup, Kent, DA14 6LJ, United Kingdom

November 1994



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