Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
From: hoey@zogwarg.etl.army.mil (Dan Hoey)
Date: 10 Jul 91 20:23:34 GMT
Subject: Re: GAMES magazine

cos...@bbn.com (Bernie Cosell) writes:

> *NO* Games magazine does *NOT* still exist.  Its publishing company
> went bankrupt and with it went Games.  Period.
> As it happens, a new investor/publisher has come along and hired
> many of the old Games staff members and has started a brand new
> magazine whose *very*first* issue came out just a month or so ago.
> The new magazine is VERY similar to the old one [and, indeed, is
> called 'Games'], but it is a wholly separate venture...

octogard!graham (Graham Mainwaring) writes:

> Games Magazine went under and exists no more.  In my opinion, it
> was a bad business decision for the new venturists to call their
> enterprise "Games Magazine," because of all the fools who can't
> distinguish between Joe Smith Jr. and Joe Smith Sr.

I think these statements go beyond legal fictions into legal fantasy.
After all, the new magazine trades on the technical reputation and
image of the old one.  They even published the answers to the puzzles
posed in the final few issues of the old magazine.

Still, it's hard to see how the editorial people should be held
morally accountable for business decisions made by the managing
company.  If the published statements are accurate, the closest anyone
on the new magazine got to the business end of the old magazine was to
cash (or be unable to cash) their paychecks.

You always risk this sort of thing when subscribing to magazines.  But
you also get a big discount for subscribing.  My experience is that
you end up saving money on average, even counting the magazines that
go out of business.  But suit yourself, there are still newsstands.

Dan Hoey
Hoey@AIC.NRL.Navy.Mil