The Transcription Project
A transcript provides future researchers with a useful way to search records. Until The Strong museum launched the Sid Sackson Portal, the diaries—and the window into understanding the history they recorded—were only accessible to on-site researchers.
Of particular interest to researchers exploring this collection are Sid Sackson’s notes on his best-known game, Acquire, first published by 3M Company in the 1960s. Other researchers have consulted Sackson’s diaries and correspondence files about particular game designers such as Alex Randolph and Frank Thibault; major American game companies such as Avalon Hill, Hasbro, Milton Bradley, and Parker Brothers; and both Sackson-created games and games on which Sackson provided feedback to the designer. In past years, researchers have accessed the Sid Sackson collection to explore the links between games and history, the varied aspects of American childhood through the lens of material culture, the definition of "victory" in board and role-playing games (RPGs), the representation of the Cold War and nuclear warfare in video games, and the portrayal of Native Americans in board games, among other topics.
Transcription of the entries will make these diaries even more accessible to researchers and enthusiasts around the world. Anyone can assist in transcribing Sackson’s diaries and contribute to the body of scholarship on the history of games as it relates to cultural shifts and trends. Every word you transcribe helps!
To participate in the Transcription Project, create an account here.
Creating a user account means that you supply a username (your real name or a nickname) and a password. (The system will reject a username that is already in use.) A user account is created only once. You are then logged in. Next time you log in, you will supply your username again and demonstrate with the password that you are the same person. Edits you make are recorded under your username. You will log in with this username and password when working on transcriptions. (No account is needed to simply Browse the Collection on the Sid Sackson Portal.)
Once you are logged into the Transcription Project, you will see an option to Transcribe a page. Check out the Project Guidelines link in the Transcription Project header for more details and guidance.
You can also view or download the Transcription Walkthrough and FAQs guide here.