Sid Sackson

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Sid Sackson (* 4. February 1920 in Chicago , Illinois ; † 6. November 2002 in New York City ) was one of the world's most famous and successful inventor of board games (several hundred), games collector and also an author of several acclaimed games books ( " Play different from others ”,“ Card games of the world ”).

Life

Sid Sackson comes from a family of immigrants from Bessarabia called "Sach" or "Sack", who came to the United States from a small town near Minsk , where they renamed themselves "Sackson". In his childhood he experienced the great recession that uprooted his family and drove them across the country looking for work. Sackson's passion for games and inventing games developed early, at the age of eight, Sackson invented a paper and pencil game that eventually became his world-class success, Acquire .

Sacksons studied "Civil and Traffic Engineer" and graduated in 1943, he initially worked in this profession. The success of “Acquire” and other board game classics from his pen enabled him to “quit” this job and be a full-time game designer. In the basement and two rooms of his own home in the Bronx, New York, which he lived in with his wife and two children, he had a scientific archive for a huge collection of card and board games and their rules. He owned over 20,000 complete games and parts of another 50,000. Studying these games inspired Sackson to create his own very successful creations. The sold circulation of some of his games exceeded 1 million.

In the scene of discerning friends and inventors of card and board games, Sackson still enjoys a legendary reputation as a genius who created complex challenges with simple, well-thought-out rules.

Well-known games in the German-speaking area

Here is an excerpt from his extensive playography :

  • Acquire - Der Goldene Pöppel 2nd place 1987, 2nd place 1986, 3rd place 1983, 3rd place 1982, German game award : Exemplary rule 1983
  • Focus - Game of the Year 1981
  • Beer Exchange (1979, original title: Bazaar )
  • Can't Stop (1981)
  • Metropolis (1984)
  • Bazaar (1986, aka Bazaar II aka Samarkand )
  • The 1. Million (1987, original title: Monad , publisher: Hexagames , included in the selection list for the game of the year)
  • The Legacy of Maloney (1988, Original Title: Maloney's Inheritance )
  • Diamond hunt (1990, original title: Sleuth )
  • Die Bosse (1991, Original title: Venture )
  • The Super Leaf (1992, aka Buried Treasure )
  • Gold Connection (1992, aka Maverick Country )
  • Wu Hsing (1992, original title: Domino Bead Game from his book "A Gamut of Games")
  • Coal, Gravel & Dough (1994, aka I'm The Boss )
  • Maasai
  • Fleet crab

literature

Games: brains and color . In: Der Spiegel . No. 41 , 1981, pp. 278-280 ( Online - Oct. 5, 1981 , report on Sid Sackson).

See also

Works

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Sackson, Sid
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American game writer
DATE OF BIRTH 4th February 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois
DATE OF DEATH November 6, 2002
Place of death New York City