A very polished, professional and useful compendium of articles about games from the Collective Endeavour. And while it is indeed free to download, this is one PDF I would quite happily have shelled out some cash for.

Sporting articles ranging across genres as diverse as the Napoleonic Wars (Duelling in Duty & Honour) and a Cold War escalation that Never Quite Was (two Hot War articles); and in tone from the serious (er, gonzo grunts in 3:16) to the absurd-in-a-good-way (a Toy Soldiers riff for Contenders), the Journal just oozes quality and enthusiasm. The CE stable have really set the bar quite high with this release: I'd like to see more games companies doing stuff like this. I look forward to the second issue.

(Finally, I feel I must add that the monster pics on pages 33-38 are quite chilling. You've been warned!)