ORIGIN: UK Pocketeer, no.31373

VARIANTS: Clam's Casino.

GAMEPLAY: One of the simplest of all the Pocketeers. You pull the lever to fire the ball round the spiral, then a button on the left-hand side causes the monster's mouth to flip open for a split-second, just wide enough to swallow the ball. It's actually very difficult to pull off, unless you cheat by holding the button about three-quarters of the way in, in which case the mouth stays open. If you can resist that temptation, it's one of the most challenging and addictive games in the series.

VARIANT: Clam's Casino

ORIGIN: US Tomy Pocket Game

DIFFERENCES: Name, theme, colour and graphics. The "plot" would seem to concern a bizarre casino run by crustacean sea creatures. Presumably the balls are supposed to represent pearls which the player is gambling with the clams. Shame about the horrible colour scheme, though.