Diana Wynne Jones’s Magic and Myths Collection. Diana Wynne Jones

People used to make up silly sentences (known as mnemonics) using the initial letters of each planet to remember their order from the sun. The most well-known is: Mother Very Easily Made Jam Sandwiches Under No Protest. In 2006 Pluto was reclassified as a minor planet. Unlike the planets, it has an elliptical orbit. Halley’s Comet is visible from Earth every 76 years. It was last seen in 1986 and will return in 2062.

Starry Night

	Orion is the brightest constellation in the winter sky.
	The three stars across his “belt” are the easiest way to spot this group.
	The stars are not really linked in any way, but ancient civilisations imagined the shape.
	There are many myths about Orion the Hunter. One story says that he perpetually chases the Pleiades across the sky, while Taurus the Bull prevents him from ever reaching them.
	You can find the “horns” of Taurus above and to the right of Orion. The cloudy cluster behind Taurus is the Pleiades.

The Western Zodiac

      These are the sun signs. Which one were you born under?

Know Yourself Game

      The sun sign you are born under is supposed to give you certain personality traits. From the descriptions listed here, can you recognise yourself?

      Answers on page 20.

If you like, you’ll love…

      If you liked reading The Game, you’ll enjoy these other books by Diana Wynne Jones.

	If you like myths, you’ll love Eight Days of Luke. When Luke turns up claiming that David has released him from prison, David doesn’t know what to believe. But whenever he lights a flame, his new friend appears…
	If you like games, you’ll love The Homeward Bounders. When Jamie discovers the sinister, dark-cloaked Them playing with human lives, he becomes part of their game. If he can get Home, he is free…
	If you like stars, you’ll love Dogsbody. Sirius the Dog Star is sent to Earth as punishment. Here he is to live as a dog, unless he can discover a valuable device that has been lost.

	If you like crazy families, you’ll love Archer’s Goon. The trouble begins when the Goon moves into the kitchen and refuses to leave. It is then that the Sykes family discover that the town is being run by seven megalomaniac wizards!
	If you like time travel, you’ll love A Tale of Time City. Vivian is kidnapped and taken to Time City, a place that exists outside time and space. But the city is crumbling, and unless Vivian can help discover the cause, all of history will end…
	If you like fairy tales, you’ll love Howl’s Moving Castle. When Sophie falls under a curse, she seeks help from the fearsome Wizard Howl, whose appetite, they say, is satisfied only by the hearts of young girls…

Answers

      Mythosphere Match

Aladdin + Magic lamp	Frodo Baggins + Ring
Sinbad + Roc’s egg	Alice + Bottle labelled “drink me”
Baba Yaga + Hut with chicken legs	Medusa + Snake hair
Cinderella + Glass slipper	King Arthur + Sword in the stone
Thor + Hammer	Persephone + pomegranate

      Know yourself Game

      Is your personality written in the stars? Or is it all just a load of moonshine?

1. Capricorn	2. Gemini
3. Cancer	4. Sagittarius
5. Pisces	6. Taurus
7. Libra	8. Aquarius
9. Leo	10. Aries
11. Scorpio	12. Virgo

      If