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During the 1960s and into the early 1970, the 3M company (better known today as the makers of "Post-it" notes) produced a series of games aimed at an adult audience. These games were in general very well done, with fairly simple rules but complex gameplay and depth and with uniformly high quality components. The games covered a variety of topics, from business and sports simulations to word and abstract strategy games. Perhaps the best known of the 3M Games was a series known as the "bookshelf" line. These games got their name from their packaging. All of the games were of a uniform size and the box containing the game components was placed inside a slipcase. The slipcases were designed to be stored and displayed on a bookshelf. A smaller line of mostly card games was known as the "gamette" line. Gamettes were smaller (about 5 x 7 inches) than the bookshelf titles. The boxes were hinged on one side and opened up like a book, and the games were intended to be stored on a bookshelf. Several games from the bookshelf line also had gamette versions published. The 3M sports game line was also unique in many ways. The packaging consisted of a vinyl playing board which wrapped around the box holding the game components. (Because of this design they are often known as "flatbox" games.) 3M also produced a series of "paper" games. These were simple pencil and paper games that consisted of a pad of pre-printed pages. For all of the 3M games, the components were of generally high quality and the games are still as interesting today as they were 30 years ago. The 3M games are still considered one of the best game lines ever produced. Select any of the titles below to find out more about these fascinating games. Bookshelf Games
Gamettes
Sports Games
Paper Games
Dennis Matheson - dennis@gamepile.com Last Revised - December 5, 1999 |