The distinction between adventure games and role-playing games or RPGs is an easy one to make. Your average adventure game will cast you as one character, and you have to solve puzzles by using a simple point-and-click interface, utilising plenty of lateral thinking.

An RPG, on the other hand, lets you build up a group of characters who have statistics and skills, and generally involves a lot more fighting and dragon-slaying than puzzle-solving, although there is plenty of plot substance and adventure to be had. Online RPGs, like Asheron's Call and Everquest, are particularly popular variations on the theme.

"Verily, hast thou taken leave of thy senses sirrah?". This is role-player speak. "Dost thou knowest the way to the fair city of Skara'Brae? Forsooth, I have but sixteen pyreals to a goblin's knee, and I seek safe passage through the Direlands."

It's not all hey-nonny-no, although this is the stereotype; in fact RPGs are actually pretty accessible in these days of clean, easy to use interfaces, with the Dungeons & Dragons-type rules being stowed away well in the background of the gameplay mechanics. Much to the distress of frothing at the mouth, bearded weirdy D20-wielding* wookies across the land, no doubt.

Baldur's Gate is an example of a great, epic role-playing adventure, with a huge, intriguing plot, and superb graphics. It's maybe more for true RPG'ers, but you can certainly get your dragon-slaying kicks in arcade style RPGs these days, such as the very competent Silver from Infogrames.

As far as traditional adventure games go, you can't go wrong with a LucasArts offering, one of note being Grim Fandango, a rather surreal tale of a chauffeur of souls in the afterlife, and the excellent The Curse of Monkey Island.

Stinkers? There are plenty. From the RPG side avoid the abysmal and aptly named Hazard (Virgin), a turgid step back about seven years in gaming technology. Then there's Hopkins FBI (SCi); possibly the worst adventure game ever made, it would have looked dated back in the Eighties. You'll find more adventure in Bognor on a wet Sunday afternoon.

* A D20 is a twenty sided dice (sorry, die). The more sides a die has, the more exciting it is to a table-top role player. FACT.