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
- Acquire - High Adventure in High Finance
- Backgammon - The Game of Kings
- Bazaar - The Trading Game
- Breakthru - Strategic Game of Evasion or Capture
- Challenge Bridge - A New Dimension in Duplicate Bridge
- Challenge Football - Football
- Challenge Golf at Pebble Beach - Par 72, 6815 Yards
- Chess - The Classic Game
- Contigo - Strategic Game of Programmed Moves
- Events - The Game of Historic Happenings
- Executive Decision - The Business Management Game
- Facts in Five - The Game of Knowledge
- Feudal - The Game of Siege and Conquest
- Foil - Challenging Game of Words and Wits
- Go - The Legendary Oriental Game of Skill
- High Bid - Exciting New Auction Game
- Image - The Game of Personality Profiles
- Jati - The Strategic Game of Alignment
- Jumpin - The Absorbing Game of Pawns
- Mr. President - Political Campaign and Election Game
- Oh-Wah-Ree - The World's Newest Oldest Game
- Phlounder - Fun and Action Word Game
- Ploy - Strategic Game of Maneuver and Capture
- Point of Law - An Exciting Involvement Game
- Quinto - Fascinating Game of Fives
- Stocks and Bonds - The Game of Investments
- Twixt - Strategy Game of Barriers
Gamettes
- Evade - Objective: Outwit and Outmaneuver Opponent
- Foil - Stimulating Game of Words 'n Wits for All Ages
- High Bid - Objective: Outbid or Outbluff Your Opponent
- Monad - Strategic Action Game of Buying and Trading
- Octrix - Absorbing and Unusual Game of Eights
- Sleuth - Solve the Mystery of the Missing Gems
- Sum Up - Challenging Game of Creative Equations
- Tryce - An Intriguing Game of Words & Runs & Groups
- Venture - Fascinating Game of Finance and Big Business
Sports Games
- Big League Baseball - Baseball
- Blue Line Hockey - Hockey
- Regatta - Yacht Racing
- Speed Circuit - Auto Racing
- Thinking Man's Football - Football
- Thinking Man's Golf - Golf
- Win, Place and Show - Horse Racing
Paper Games
- 3D Tic-Tac-Toe
- Hedron - A Geometric Capture Game
- Hex
- Nab - A Calculating Pyramid Game
- Naval Battle - A Tactical Game of Survival
- Plasm - A Spreading, Surrounding, Swallowing Game
- Snare - A Game of Lines and Loops
- Thorns - The Prickly Path Game
11 comments on 3M Games:
I've collected several of these bookshelf games,I love playing them,my oldered sons and grandaughter also play.would like find more games.[armandoag05@msn.com]
Tell me where I can buy Facts in Five. Thank You.
Check the FAQs and Links links in the left sidebar for a list of places where you can find older games on-line.
The Monad link gives this error message:
Unknown column 'item_headline_image_align' in 'field list'
Thanks, it looks like I broke something with my last update. It should be fixed now.
hey i am doing a assignment at school and i was wondering if you knew of a site that had made some board games but they didnt sell enough to make it major production lines..... if you do have any sites can you email me andi will be sure to even pay you thru a cheque or visa... my email is ronnie-sharpe@hotmail.com.... thanks and have a great day...
Sincerely Ron Sharpe.
Manager And Co- Founder Of Sharpe's Auto Race Team
i am sorry that it does that race team thing all over your site also i am also a race team so my cpu does that automattically
Sincerely Ron Sharpe
Manager And Co- Founder Of Sharpe\'s Auto Race Team
Anyone looking to find some of these titles, I was given a collection of them that were my parents. All are in near mint to mint quality with full pieces etc. Just don't have room and, though some of them I fondly remember playing, we never use/play them. If interested email me at hz14000@aol.com.
I managed to find a copy of Sum Up. If you'd like, I can do a write-up for your site.
I have invented a 4 player chess game that is different and much, much better than all the others out there. I have played it with several chess lovers and they all though it was awesome. I'm looking for a publisher. Please contact me at 716-570-1435 or codonnell@probeservices.com if your interested or want more information on the game.
-Thanks
I have the bookshelf games "Feudal", "Twixt", and "Stocks and Bonds", but simply don't have room for them anymore. If anyone is interested in buying them, shoot me an email with an offer. Thanks! (sheena.sorensen@yahoo.com)