A Gamut of Games

by Sid Sackson

"A genuine milestone." — Martin Gardner, Scientific American . An authority on game history selects 38 of his all-time favorite amusements, including 22 of his own remarkable creations. Solitaire, strategy, and party games can be played by children or adults with such common items as cards, checkerboards, dice, pencils, and paper. 152 illustrations.

Genres: Games, Nonfiction, Reference, Game Design

187 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

Reviews

[Todd Coopee · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1969 by Castle Books, A Gamut of Games is an entertaining collection of 38 old and new strategy games that use traditional gaming staples, such as playing cards, dice, and checkerboards. Author Sid Sackson was both an authority on gaming history and a collector. Before his death in 2002, he had acquired one of the largest board game collections in the world, featuring more 18,000 titles.

Sackson clearly presents each game using a series of diagrams and/or examples. These visual aids -- coupled with descriptions focused on strategy, goals, and recommended number of players -- clearly reflect the author’s command of and passion for the material. Some of my personal favorites include Blue and Gray, a Checkers variant; Plank, an advanced version of Tic-Tac-Toe; and Last Word, a paper-based Scrabble-like entry.

While I found the presentation of each game fascinating reading, I also thoroughly enjoyed the introduction, where Sackson details why he included each game in the book. Each anecdote reads like an entry from his personal diary and reflects the strong ties he built over the years with other game designers throughout the world.

For anyone interested in game theory, design, and play, A Gamut of Games is required reading and a worthy addition to your bookshelf.

[Serge Pierro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before the current Golden Age of boardgames, there was little information on game designers or their designs. Sid Sackson was a lone voice crying out in the wilderness and his impact on the hobby industry is still felt today. In this collection of excellent games, Sackson gives a brief introduction to the featured game and then goes into detail on how to play it. I was surprised at how good many of the games were. This is a must read for the board game historian, as well as game designers.

[Pranav Jawale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fascinating source of clever games and game design ideas.

Here's a quote with which the author starts to describe new paper and pencil games. I bet you'd be hooked.
"If all the people who ever played TIC-TAC-Toe were laid end to end, they would promptly fall asleep. That's the kind of game it is. Yet put two people together with a pencil, a scrap of paper, and some
time to kill and chances are they'll wind up playing endless games of T-T-T, with never a winner."

[Carlos Piélago Rojo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pocos libros hay en español sobre este tema, y este encima escrito por uno de los mejores diseñadores de juegos de mesa que ha existido, y además nos comparte algunas píldoras de su sabiduría con las historias o los orígenes que hay detrás de los juegos de mesa que trata en el libro. Todos los juegos que aparecen en este libro los puedes montar con materiales sencillos, cartas, dados, etc, una joya.

[David Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is considered a classic book within the board gaming field, written by the great game designer Sid Sackson, who was so many years ahead of his time. It's such a pity that Sid Sackson is not around to see the growth of the industry. A book containing many games including Sackson designs, which one day, when I get the time, I might actually play a game from it! (29/8/11 - legacy review still sadly relevant).

[Evan Leister · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fantastic look at some older games and some ways to make modifications to a game. My personal favorite out of this was the Bowling Solitaire variant which reminds me of newer games like Regicide in a good way.

Some of the games in here are dated but if you're interested in any amount of board games you'll have a lot of fun popping in and seeing a time capsule of a former gaming age.

[Teo Matiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Estaba interesado en juegos con temáticas llamativas y buena calidad visual. Al explorar opciones, decidí prueba Fortune de Spinomenal en línea https://mexico-pin-up.mx/casino/provi... por su diseño atractivo. El juego ofrece una experiencia fluida. La temática se siente bien desarrollada. Es una buena elección para quienes valoran tanto gráficos como jugabilidad.

[Brett Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting collection of unknown games from the 80s

A fascinating set of games to play with regular equipment, along with excellent commentary and strategy notes by the excellent Sid Sackson. Highly recommended.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did discover the best game ever ! Lines of Action !

[Nathan Woll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic, still holds up pretty good

[Ian Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are plenty of books about public domain board games (especially chess, backgammon, draughts and go) and about public domain card games (those played with playing cards). But books about board and cards games from the 20th century are rarer, especially those written by game designers. Sid Sackson was the most prolific game designer from the 1960s to 1980s (though his games never reached New Zealand until the 21st century). I first came across this book in public libraries, for instance the Wellington public library had it in the 1990s (but not any more).

I think the message behind the book is that game designing is viable and worthwhile activity. The opening chapter is a handful of games (mostly from the early 20th century) that you wouldn't have heard of elsewhere - these are games Saskson has come across in his researching into games. The next chapter is titled "Game inventors are people too", describing games designed by ten of his friends. The remaining 4 chapters cover games designed by the author. They all use equipment you already have or could easily acquire. There is a chapter of games using playing cards, another for games using a chess board. A third chapter for pencil and paper games and the final chapter for miscellaneous game that didn't fit in the other three chapters.

Some of the games in this book were published commercially and Sackson and his friend Alex Randolph helped spark a renaissance in board games in Germany which via Settlers of Catan and the internet has spread throughout the world.

There are games in here that might be worth trying if you and your friends want to learn a new game without buying one at a shop or on-line. Some simple construction may be necessary. Otherwise it is an interesting read to get an insight into how Sid Sackson and his friends were thinking about game design in the 1960s - it is the stepping stone between public domain games like chess, bridge, battleships and backgammon and modern board games like Agricola and Power Grid and Twilight Struggle. Moving from variations on existing games to a broader idea of giving players interesting decisions to make as they play cards or put (or move) pieces on a board.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book containing, as indicated, a gamut of games that can be played with readily available objects and standard playing cards. Bowling Solitaire is a great way to pass a few spare minutes. Some great game history as well.
The book is hard to find now, but I picked up an old hardcover edition on Amazon pretty inexpensively.

[Mariah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book when I was a kid, and I still enjoy looking in it to get ideas for a playful rainy day.

[Greg Fanoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

100% essential for those with any interest in design and play of simple games.

[Thom Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Games not generally available, including Knight Chase, a combative variant of The Knight's Tour.