Issue 1 of Abstract Games, a new magazine focusing on lesser-known abstract games -- games like Bashne, Lines of Action and Kyoto Shogi -- provides a tremendous start for what could become a must-read for fans of this genre.

Editor and co-publisher Kerry Handscomb has done a tremendous job of putting together a well-written and well-formatted publication. The magazine's first issue (dated Spring 2000) includes a full-color, glossy cover and black and white standard paper pages (roughly the same stock as standard copy paper) throughout the inside.

The table of contents lists the following articles:

• Editorial
• Software Review: Zillions of Games
• Game Review: Trax and GIPF
• Book Review: The Oxford History of Board Games
• Bashne -- An Old Russian Cousin of Draughts
• Lines of Action -- Strategic Ideas Part 1
• Games on the Internet
• Chess Variants: Kyoto Shogi Part 1
• Mentalis -- A Forgotten Classic from the 1970s
• Let's Keep Our Heads...

Subscriptions to Abstract Games are available for US$23 in the United States, US$22 in Canada and US$26 elsewhere. (The cost includes airmail delivery.) For more information, write to: Carpe Diem Publishing, Box 33018, 1583 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, BC, Canada V7V 1H0.

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