3M bookshelf game series

Lore & Background

In 1963, 3M commissioned game designers Alex Randolph and Sid Sackson to design the early games. They were largely responsible for shaping the direction of the line towards abstract strategy and economic games. Randolph produced TwixT, Oh-Wah-Ree, Breakthru, Evade, Jati, and Mad Mate. Sackson contributed Acquire, Bazaar, Monad, Executive Decision, Sleuth, and Venture. 3M thereafter relied extensively on freelance designers, receiving between 400 and 600 submissions every year. A few popular games with established sales were acquired from other companies.

The games were produced by 3M from 1963 to 1975. By the mid-1970s, gaming trends had shifted to pen-and-paper role playing games, and the 3M game division was suffering losses. In 1975, the entire line was sold to Avalon Hill, which produced a competing line of bookcase games. Avalon Hill discontinued most of them well before 1998, though a handful lingered in print until that year when the company was sold by its parent company to Hasbro. While Acquire was mildly re-themed and published by Hasbro/Avalon Hill in 2000, the company has indicated that they have no plans to publish any of the 3M or Avalon Hill bookshelf games.

Since 2008, Acquire has been published by various Hasbro divisions (including Wizards of the Coast). TwixT has been published by a succession of German companies including Schmidt Spiele and Kosmos under license. A few games not acquired by Hasbro, such as Facts in Five and Executive Decision, have since been published by University Games in a bookshelf format, using a magnetic closing flap instead of a slip-case.

Reader's Guide

The 3M bookshelf game series is significant for pioneering the book-shaped game box and for introducing abstract strategy and economic games that influenced later Eurogame design. The series included both republished classics like Go, chess, and backgammon, and original games by notable designers Alex Randolph and Sid Sackson. Acquire and TwixT became best-sellers and remain the most recognized titles. The line's shift to Avalon Hill in 1976 marked the end of 3M's game division, but some games continued publication into the late 1990s. The series' legacy is seen in the continued reprinting of Acquire by Wizards of the Coast and TwixT by German companies, as well as the revival of a few titles by University Games. The bookshelf format itself influenced later game packaging, though very few of the original 3M games are still in print. The series represents a transitional period in board gaming, from traditional family games to more strategic, designer-driven titles.

Did You Know?

• The games were packaged in leatherette-look large hardback book size boxes, unlike the prevalent wide, flat game boxes.
• Between 400 and 600 game submissions were received every year by 3M.
• Only the very first few games were packaged in a different shape box called a 'butterbox'.
• Acquire has been published by various Hasbro divisions since 2008, including Wizards of the Coast.

Origins & the Designers Who Shaped a Line

In 1962, 3M Corporation took an unusual step for a company known for adhesives and industrial products: it commissioned two of the era's most inventive game designers to build a new line of strategy and economic titles. Alex Randolph and Sid Sackson were brought in to craft the early entries, and their combined vision steered the entire series toward abstract strategy and economic gameplay. Randolph went on to contribute titles like TwixT, Oh-Wah-Ree, Breakthru, Evade, Jati, and Mad Mate, while Sackson delivered Acquire, Bazaar, Monad, Executive Decision, Sleuth, and Venture. After these foundational years, 3M shifted its approach, leaning heavily on freelance designers to fill out the catalog. The company reportedly received between four hundred and six hundred new submissions annually, and it occasionally acquired already-established titles from other publishers to round out the lineup. This open, designer-driven model helped the series swell to more than three dozen distinct games over the following decade.

A Distinctive Look on the Shelf

One of the most immediately recognizable features of the 3M bookshelf series was its packaging. Rather than the wide, flat cardboard boxes that dominated the board game market, each title arrived in a leatherette-finished hardback box sized to resemble a large library book, measuring roughly 8.5 by 12 by 2.25 inches. The earliest releases even used a different, more angular container that collectors later nicknamed the butterbox. This deliberate aesthetic choice made the games feel like collectible volumes rather than disposable party entertainment. The catalog itself was remarkably varied: alongside original designs, the line included republished classics such as Go, chess, and backgammon. Most entries were multi-player board or card games, though a handful were trivia challenges or two-handed affairs. A later sub-line called gamettes offered the same titles in smaller boxes, and a couple of games like Foil and High-Bid appeared in both full-size and gamette formats.

The End of a Corporate Experiment

From 1962 through 1975, the games were manufactured under the full corporate name The Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company, a curious pairing of industrial branding with leisure products. But by the mid-1970s, the recreational gaming landscape had shifted dramatically. Pen-and-paper role-playing games surged in popularity, and 3M's game division began posting financial losses. In 1976, the company made the decision to sell the entire bookshelf line to Avalon Hill, a company that simultaneously ran its own competing line of bookcase-style games. Avalon Hill trimmed the catalog significantly, keeping only a handful of titles in active production. Those surviving games continued to be printed until 1998, when Avalon Hill's parent company sold the brand to Hasbro. Hasbro gave Acquire a light re-theme and a new printing in 2000, but the company has since made clear it has no intention of reviving any of the 3M or Avalon Hill bookshelf titles.

Echoes on the Shelf: What Survived

Despite the corporate churn, a small number of titles from the 3M era have found enduring homes. Acquire, widely regarded as a landmark of the Eurogame style, has been published since 2008 by Wizards of the Coast, a Hasbro subsidiary. TwixT, Randolph's elegant two-player strategy game, has been kept alive through a succession of German publishers, including Schmidt Spiele and Kosmos, operating under license. Meanwhile, titles that escaped the Hasbro acquisition—Facts in Five and Executive Decision among them—have been reissued by University Games in a format that deliberately echoes the original bookshelf aesthetic. These modern reprints still mimic the look of a large hardcover book, though they swap the old slip-case for a magnetic closing flap. The fact that these games continue to find publishers decades after 3M abandoned the line speaks to the lasting appeal of the original designs, even as the vast majority of the series has faded from print.

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