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{{Short description|American game designer (1920–2002)}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Sid Sackson arms.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Sid Sackson]] -->
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Sid Sackson arms.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Sid Sackson]] -->
'''Sid Sackson''' (February 4, 1920 in [[Chicago]] – November 6, 2002)<ref>"United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JBRW-PZG : accessed 25 May 2016), Sidney Sackson, 06 Nov 2002; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).</ref>{{better source|date=January 2020}} was an American [[board game]] designer and collector, best known as the creator of the business game ''[[Acquire]]''.
'''Sid Sackson''' (February 4, 1920 in [[Chicago]] – November 6, 2002)<ref>"United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JBRW-PZG : accessed 25 May 2016), Sidney Sackson, 06 Nov 2002; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Henle|first=Jim|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780691213651-011/html|title=Mathematical Treasures from Sid Sackson|date=2020-11-23|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-21365-1|language=en|doi=10.1515/9780691213651-011/html}}</ref> was an American [[board game]] designer and collector, best known as the creator of the business game ''[[Acquire]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-05-17|title=Sid Sackson: Game Player and Designer|url=https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/sid-sackson-game-player-and-designer/|access-date=2024-04-06|website=The Strong Museum of Play|language=en-US}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
His most popular creation is probably the business game ''[[Acquire]]''. Other games he designed include ''[[Can't Stop (board game)|Can't Stop]]'' and ''[[Focus (board game)|Focus]]'' (''Domination''), which won the prestigious German [[Spiel des Jahres]] game design award in 1981.
Sackson's most popular creation is probably the business game ''[[Acquire]]''. Other games he designed include ''[[Can't Stop (board game)|Can't Stop]]'' and ''[[Focus (board game)|Focus]]'' (''Domination''), which won the prestigious German [[Spiel des Jahres]] game design award in 1981.


Other notable works include his books, especially ''[[A Gamut of Games]]'' and ''[[Card Games Around the World]]''; both titles include a large array of rules for games both new and old, and Sackson himself invented a number of the games covered by these works.
Other notable works include his books, especially ''[[A Gamut of Games]]'' and ''[[Card Games Around the World]]''; both titles include a large array of rules for games both new and old, and Sackson himself invented a number of the games covered by these works.
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==Honors==
==Honors==


Sackson was inducted into the [[Origins Award|Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design's Hall of Fame]], along with ''Acquire'', in 2011.<ref name="Origins">[http://www.gama.org/OriginsAwards/tabid/2720/Default.aspx Origins Awards Hall of Fame for Sackson]</ref>
Sackson was inducted into the [[Origins Award|Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design's Hall of Fame]], along with ''Acquire'', in 2011.<ref name="Origins">[https://www.originsawards.net/hall-of-fame Origins Awards Hall of Fame for Sackson]</ref>


He was honored as a "famous game designer" by being featured as the king of diamonds in [[Flying Buffalo]]'s 2011 Famous Game Designers Playing Card Deck.<ref name="buffalo_dec">{{cite web| url=http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/pokerdeck.htm| title=Poker Deck| publisher=Flying Buffalo| accessdate=February 11, 2014}}</ref>
He was honored as a "famous game designer" by being featured as the king of diamonds in [[Flying Buffalo]]'s 2011 Famous Game Designers Playing Card Deck.<ref name="buffalo_dec">{{cite web| url=http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/pokerdeck.htm| title=Poker Deck| publisher=Flying Buffalo| accessdate=February 11, 2014}}</ref>
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Some of Sackson's notable games <!-- (ones with articles on Wikipedia) --> include:
Some of Sackson's notable games <!-- (ones with articles on Wikipedia) --> include:
*''[[Acquire]]''
*''[[Acquire]]''
*''[[Black Monday (card game)|Black Monday]]''
*''[[Bowling Solitaire]]''
*''[[Bowling Solitaire]]''
*''[[BuyWord]]''
*''[[BuyWord]]''
*''[[Can't Stop (board game)|Can't Stop]]''
*''[[Can't Stop (board game)|Can't Stop]]''
*''[[Fields of Action]]''<ref>{{cite book | last =Schmittberger | first =R. Wayne | title =New Rules for Classic Games | publisher =John Wiley and Sons Ltd | date =1992 | pages =90–91 | isbn =9780471536215}}</ref>
*''[[Fields of Action]]''
*''[[Focus (board game)|Focus]]''
*''[[Focus (board game)|Focus]]''
*''[[Haggle (game)|Haggle]]''
*''[[Haggle (game)|Haggle]]''
*''[[I'm the Boss!]]''
*''[[I'm the Boss!]]''
*''[[:zh:串驪棋|Network]]
*''[[:zh:串驪棋|Network]]''
*''[[Patterns II]]''
*''[[Poke (game)|Poke]]''
*''[[Poke (game)|Poke]]''
*''The No Game''

One of Sackson's lesser-known works was a 1977 book entitled "[[Beyond Competition]]" which contained six original pencil-and-paper games designed to be played by multiple players who could only win as a group through cooperation in achieving a mutual goal. His game ''[[Can't Stop (board game)|Can't Stop]]'' can be played at [[BrettspielWelt]].

===The No Game ===
'''The No Game''' is a party game with only one real rule. Sid Sackson wrote about it in ''[[A Gamut of Games]]'', but it undoubtedly existed beforehand.

Play is as follows:
*Locate a nice prize.
*As everyone enters the party, pin a small ribbon on their clothes, one per person.
*After everyone has arrived, gather them together and give a speech similar to the following:
**"The object of tonight's game is to collect the most ribbons. To collect ribbons, you must have an opponent say the word 'No' to you. Upon uttering that word, you may promptly collect every ribbon currently pinned on them; they are yours, at least until you say 'No.' Other words, phrases, and actions, like 'Nah,' 'Certainly not,' and a swift slap, are perfectly valid; only uttering the word 'No' causes a lack of ribbons. At ''[some time here]'', the person with the most ribbons wins the game, and receives a nice prize."
*Play as the speech above states.

While simple in concept, it is surprisingly hard to remove the word 'No' from one's vocabulary; see [[lipogram]]s for a literary equivalent.



==Works==
* Sackson, Sid, ''Card Games Around the World'', {{ISBN|0-486-27347-4}}
* Sackson, Sid, ''Card Games Around the World'', {{ISBN|0-486-27347-4}}
* Sackson, Sid, ''A Gamut of Games'', {{ISBN|0-486-28100-0}}
* Sackson, Sid, ''A Gamut of Games'', {{ISBN|0-486-28100-0}}
* Sackson, Sid, ''Beyond Tic-Tac-Toe,'' ISBN 0-394-83136-5, Pantheon Books, 1975
⚫
* "Sid Sackson Game Collection Auction", http://boardgames.about.com/cs/sacksonauction/
* Sackson, Sid, ''Beyond Solitaire'', ISBN 0-394-83304-X, Pantheon Books, 1976
⚫
* {{cite web|title=The Great Games of Sid Sackson|url=http://bobclaster.com/sid/sackson.htm|author=Bob Claster|date=13 August 2005}}
* Sackson, Sid, ''Beyond Competition,'' ISBN 0-394-83605-7, Pantheon Books, 1977
⚫
*{{bgg designer|4}}

==References==
{{reflist}}


== Further reading ==
== Further reading ==
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==External links==
==External links==
⚫
*[https://www.acquisitiongames.com/index.php/vacation-the-game-of-hotels History of the Game of ACQUIRE] Acquisition Games Page
* {{Find a Grave|144724718}}
⚫
*[https://www.acquisitiongames.com/index.php/vacation-the-game-of-hotels History of the Game of ACQUIRE]Acquisition Games Page
*[https://www.acquisitiongames.com/index.php Everything you want to know about the game of ACQUIRE] Acquisition Games Page
*[https://www.acquisitiongames.com/index.php Everything you want to know about the game of ACQUIRE] Acquisition Games Page
⚫
* "Sid Sackson Game Collection Auction", http://boardgames.about.com/cs/sacksonauction/
⚫
* {{cite web|title=The Great Games of Sid Sackson|url=http://bobclaster.com/sid/sackson.htm|author=Bob Claster|date=13 August 2005}}
⚫
*{{bgg designer|4}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Reflist}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sackson, Sid}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sackson, Sid}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:Board game designers]]
[[Category:American board game designers]]
⚫
[[Category:Tabletop game writers]]
[[Category:Card game book writers]]
[[Category:Card game book writers]]
⚫
[[Category:Tabletop game writers]]

Latest revision as of 08:57, 20 November 2024

Sid Sackson (February 4, 1920 in Chicago – November 6, 2002)[1][2] was an American board game designer and collector, best known as the creator of the business game Acquire.[3]

Career

[edit]

Sackson's most popular creation is probably the business game Acquire. Other games he designed include Can't Stop and Focus (Domination), which won the prestigious German Spiel des Jahres game design award in 1981.

Other notable works include his books, especially A Gamut of Games and Card Games Around the World; both titles include a large array of rules for games both new and old, and Sackson himself invented a number of the games covered by these works.

For several years in the mid-1970s, Sid Sackson wrote a monthly column for Strategy & Tactics magazine called “Sackson on Games” in which he reviewed games (other than wargames).

Sackson's book collection was arranged in groups of five books so he would know if a book was missing and which one it was.[4]

Sackson collected games throughout his life; at the time of his death, his collection was estimated at over 18,000 titles. Many of those were unique, sent to him by hopeful game developers who wanted Sackson's advice. At one point in his life, Sackson turned down an offer to bring his collection elsewhere for permanent safekeeping; the games were sold at a series of auctions after his death, breaking up the collection. Sackson's personal papers are stored at The Strong in Rochester, New York.

Honors

[edit]

Sackson was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design's Hall of Fame, along with Acquire, in 2011.[5]

He was honored as a "famous game designer" by being featured as the king of diamonds in Flying Buffalo's 2011 Famous Game Designers Playing Card Deck.[6]

Games

[edit]

Some of Sackson's notable games include:

Works

[edit]
  • Sackson, Sid, Card Games Around the World, ISBN 0-486-27347-4
  • Sackson, Sid, A Gamut of Games, ISBN 0-486-28100-0
  • Sackson, Sid, Beyond Tic-Tac-Toe, ISBN 0-394-83136-5, Pantheon Books, 1975
  • Sackson, Sid, Beyond Solitaire, ISBN 0-394-83304-X, Pantheon Books, 1976
  • Sackson, Sid, Beyond Competition, ISBN 0-394-83605-7, Pantheon Books, 1977

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JBRW-PZG : accessed 25 May 2016), Sidney Sackson, 06 Nov 2002; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
  2. ^ Henle, Jim (2020-11-23). Mathematical Treasures from Sid Sackson. Princeton University Press. doi:10.1515/9780691213651-011/html. ISBN 978-0-691-21365-1.
  3. ^ "Sid Sackson: Game Player and Designer". The Strong Museum of Play. 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  4. ^ starting at 01:12. https://www.npr.org/2015/02/08/384533313/two-is-company-three-is-a-crowd
  5. ^ Origins Awards Hall of Fame for Sackson
  6. ^ "Poker Deck". Flying Buffalo. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  7. ^ Schmittberger, R. Wayne (1992). New Rules for Classic Games. John Wiley and Sons Ltd. pp. 90–91. ISBN 9780471536215.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
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