Games (short story)

Games was a Brief Encounter short story published in DWM 192. It featured the Celestial Toymaker (referred to as 'the Mandarin') and Fenric (referred to as 'the Entity') playing four-dimensional chess.

Summary
Within a grey void, the Mandarin addresses an amorphous cloud of pure evil with the challenge of a game. The Entity becomes a shadowy copy of the Mandarin's form and asks what stakes they will play for. The Mandarin wishes to claim the Entity as his new toy, while the Entity wishes the Mandarin's body to be his forever so he can escape his prison. The Entity chooses the game four-dimensional chess. As it progresses, the Mandarin's position becomes poorer. Realising that he can't win, he changes his tactics, leading to a stalemate. The Entity demands another game, but the Mandarin tells them they are too evenly matched. As he departs the realm, the Mandarin thanks the Entity for an interesting game and for teaching him that winning isn't everything after all.

Characters

 * The Mandarin
 * The Entity

Continuity

 * The Mandarin says that in past times he was called a Toymaker.
 * He sought out Aboo-Fenrán in Arabia, but found that the Entity had already been imprisoned in the Shadow Dimensions.
 * The Sixth Doctor and Frobisher also played four-dimensional chess in COMIC: War-Game.