Editing Sid Sackson

{{Short description|American game designer (1920–2002)}}
<!-- 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><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==
[[File:Acquire, 2008 basic version.jpg|thumb|240x240px|''Acquire'']]
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.

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.<ref>starting at 01:12. https://www.npr.org/2015/02/08/384533313/two-is-company-three-is-a-crowd</ref>

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 designer|game developer]]s 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 [[auction]]s after his death, breaking up the collection. Sackson's personal papers are stored at [[The Strong]] in Rochester, New York.

==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">[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>

==Games==
Some of Sackson's notable games <!-- (ones with articles on Wikipedia) --> include:
*''[[Acquire]]''
*''[[Black Monday (card game)|Black Monday]]''
*''[[Bowling Solitaire]]''
*''[[BuyWord]]''
*''[[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>
*''[[Focus (board game)|Focus]]''
*''[[Haggle (game)|Haggle]]''
*''[[I'm the Boss!]]''
*''[[:zh:串驪棋|Network]]''
*''[[Patterns II]]''
*''[[Poke (game)|Poke]]''

==Works==
* 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==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite web|title=GAMERS ALLIANCE REPORT SPECIAL ISSUE: A TRIBUTE TO SID SACKSON|publisher=Gamers Alliance|year=2002|url=http://gamersalliance.com/sidsackson.htm|author=Nick Sauer and Herb Levy|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215071922/http://www.gamersalliance.com/sidsackson.htm|archivedate=2008-12-15|df=}}
* {{cite web|title=The Guru Of Games|url=http://www.bobclaster.com/sid/zetlin.htm|author=Minda Zetlin|work=GAMES Magazine|date=Feb–Mar 1987}}

==External links==
*[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
* "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}}

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