need mysql join structure help

From: LRW (druid_at_NOSPAHMcelticbear.com)
Date: 02/29/04 

Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 23:28:04 GMT

This is mySQL 101. I know it's supposed to be super simple, but I'm an
idiot. I can't get my join to work (1st time I've tried doing joins.)

I've read http://www.mysql.com/doc/en/JOIN.html, but I'm just not
groking it.
When I try to do the same thing, I can't "convert" one field into the data
from another.

Here's what I have. To test this concept I made two tables on a database
called db_join:

table: tbl_a
id a_name
-----------------
1 DnD
2 Spycraft
3 SG-1
4 Fading Suns
-----------------
-----------------
table: tbl_b
id game
-----------------
1 2
2 1
3 4
4 3
5 2
6 1
7 4
8 3
9 2
-----------------
-----------------

And here's the latest attempt at generating results:

$sql = 'SELECT tbl_b.id,game'
       . ' FROM tbl_b'
       . ' LEFT JOIN tbl_a ON game = a_name LIMIT 0, 30';
$RS = @mysql_query($sql, $connection) or die("Couldn't query: " .
mysql_error());
while ($row_RS = mysql_fetch_array($RS)) {
        $block .= $row_RS['id']." - ".$row_RS['game']."<br>";
}

And the best I can do, moving fields and items around, is the
following echo of the $block:

1 - 2
2 - 1
3 - 4
4 - 3
5 - 2
6 - 1
7 - 4
8 - 3
9 - 2

What I want the final output to be is resembling this:

1 - Spycraft
2 - DnD
3 - Fading Suns
4 - SG-1
5 - Spycraft
6 - DnD
7 - Fading Suns
8 - SG-1
9 - Spycraft

What am I doing wrong? I just don't get it. If I can just get a
pointer, like "the broblem is in your WHILE statement," or "the
problem is in the SELECT part" or something like that, at least it
would narrow it down for me to figure it out.

I appreciate any advice!!
Thanks!
Liam