THE GAME OF WORLDS

"I'll beat you the second game," was the Earthman's challenge to the planet Velda—whose culture was indeed based on a complicated super-chess of skill and concentration. A Human and a Veldian could meet over a game board, but was there any other ground for understanding? For the code of Velda was strange and savage, based on a concept of honor no Earthman could comprehend. The men were warriors and the women were—mysteries.One world was challenging a galaxy, as one man was challenging that world. And in the contest for a universe, would there be a second game?