A few months back, we argued that the games industry was undermining its own business by releasing games that were too difficult for the average punter - leaving them with feelings of inadequacy and frustration which were not, we suggested, the best way of encouraging them to come back for more!

Mario Golf - Advanced Tour - a very pretty pitch-and-put affair for the Nintendo Game Boy - is a case-in-point. The first three courses are easy enough, and we devoted two-or-three happy hours to them, but very quickly after that, the game lurched to (for us) an impossible level of difficulty and we eventually put it down feeling upset and angry - we won't be buying one of THOSE games again in a hurry. However, the experience was not a totally wasted one, because we HAVE now realized that there is a solution, and the hardcore games who thrive on this stuff will be pleased to hear that it isn't simply to make the games easier!

FairgroundTown didn't learn much at teacher training college, partly because the lecturers didn't seem to have much to say, but mainly due to the fluttering eyelids of the impossibly cute girl who took the course with us... However, we WERE paying attention long enough to know that the most important concept was differentiation - the ability of produce lessons that involved the whole class (so no one felt "left out") while stretching the brainy kids with subtle extended tasks that only they noticed; with the idea that everyone would finish the day feeling like they had achieved something.

This, we believe, is what gaming needs if it is to ever extend itself beyond the serious player - a breed which seems to us to currently require the dexterity of an origami grandmaster, the hand-eye co-ordination of an Ashes all-rounder, and the extended leisure time of a domestic cat.

So, how might differentiation work in practice? Well, the basic mechanics of Mario Golf are pretty simple - a series of three-or-four button clicks will send your little white ball down the fairway. Time those clicks perfectly to hit the "sweet spot" and your stroke will be straight and true. Additional complications are provided by the wind, and the placement of obstacles such as bunkers and trees.

Now, moving the obstacles would, we accept, be too obvious; but how about lightening the breeze? or slightly adjusting the tolerance of the "sweet spot", when the player is clearly having problems? We are not suggesting that the game eliminates failure, but keeping it within reasonable bounds - say, 20% - might leave everyone a little happier, and (more importantly from the industry's point of view) a little more inclined to buy Mario Tennis, when that is released later this year.