Pharaoh's Pyramid - the right spelling despite the logo on the rulebook and package - shows that pattern-changing programs are moving into the mainstream. This disk shares features like its pyramid-of-blocks playfield with Q*bert, but its original elements give it a special flavor all its own.

Helping Little Achmed build Ramses' tomb is the main goal. Achmed hops from block to block, changing their colors each time he lands, while ferrying bricks from the river's edge to the apex of the construction. He finishes off a round by turning all blocks the same color.

Achmed starts as a slave and gradually progresses through the ranks to builder, architect, wizard, prince and pharaoh. Each level consists of six rounds, plus a seventh during which Osiris, god of the underworld, chases Achmed relentlessly. It seems that Osiris and Achmed are both vying for the love of Isis, goddess of beauty, and the deity grows increasingly trouble-some as the little Egyptian gets closer to winning his immortal heartthrob.

Other perils include a Moses Snake that follows Achmed around the playfield with its deadly touch, and a series of five plagues that start bedeviling him at level two. Other nasties include Artemis the evil alligator (level two) and Osiris' brother Set (level three), who can even push Achmed off the usually safe top step. Touching Isis endows Achmed with her magic, and he can then drive Osiris and the plagues from the screen at least for a while.

The visual treatment is exceptional. Each block looks as though it is completely outlined in small footlights, the characters are all attractively rendered, and even the background is a subtle masterpiece that slowly shifts from day to night as Achmed races up and down the sides of the tomb.

Like most games of this type, Pharaoh's Pyramid requires the player to orient the joystick in a special way, with the action button pointing directly at the display terminal. As long as the home arcader remembers to hold the command device that way, Achmed can really zip around the playfield at any of the five available speeds. Incidentally, the "just for fun" option should be attempted only by star athletes and the hyperactive. It's fast.

So if you enjoy the pattern-changers, climb onto Pharaoh's Pyramid. You'll really dig it.