Games Research Inc

Games Research Inc was an American board-game publisher formed as a partnership in Boston in 1959. The company operated during the 1960s and 1970s and developed a distinctive identity around games that emphasized negotiation, political strategy, social interaction, deduction, personality assessment, and other forms of sustained discussion rather than fast or purely luck-based play. Contemporary descriptions characterized the company as a publisher of challenging or intellectually demanding diversions, and its catalog was aimed in large part at adult players and hobbyists. The business was established by five partners who maintained separate full-time careers: John R. Moot, John T. Noonan Jr., John Mansfield, Hartley Rogers Jr., and Nathaniel Young Jr. Moot served as the company's president and evaluated submissions from game inventors. When he believed a proposal had commercial potential, he would arrange for the partners to test it together. This informal but selective process helped shape the company's reputation for unusual, conversation-driven games. Games Research's most important publishing decision was its acquisition of the rights to Allan B. Calhamer's Diplomacy. Calhamer had designed the game in 1954 and, after failing to interest established publishers, financed an initial run of 500 copies himself in 1959. Games Research acquired the rights in 1960 and issued its own edition in 1961. Diplomacy placed three to seven players in the political setting of Europe in 1914, with each player controlling a major power and attempting to expand through negotiation, alliances, and military positioning. Although early sales were limited, the game developed a committed following. Postal play, supported by fan publications and correspondence, broadened its reach, and Games Research later promoted organized postal games. By 1973, Diplomacy was reported to be selling approximately 15,000 copies annually without conventional paid advertising. The company also published Convention!, its first game, in 1960; What's That on My Head? in 1963; and Insight in 1967. Convention! simulated an American political convention and required players to win a majority of delegates. What's That on My Head? used wearable card holders and letter-based deduction, while Insight invited players to compare their preferences and personalities through questions concerning romance, luxury, reading, and imagined settings. These releases reinforced the company's focus on games that created discussion and interpersonal engagement. Games Research was eventually acquired by Avalon Hill. The available reference material does not specify the acquisition year, transaction terms, or whether the Games Research name continued as an active imprint afterward. Its lasting importance rests principally on Diplomacy, which became a classic of adult strategy gaming and a major early example of a board game whose central mechanism is negotiation among players.

Games Research Inc was founded in Boston in 1959 as a partnership of five professionals: John R. Moot, John T. Noonan Jr., John Mansfield, Hartley Rogers Jr., and Nathaniel Young Jr. Each partner had another full-time occupation. Moot was associated with the manufacturing company Cornwall Corp. and served as Games Research's president; Noonan edited the National Law Forum and taught at Notre Dame University; Mansfield was a Harvard Law School professor; Rogers was an MIT mathematics professor; and Young was a Boston lawyer. Most of the partners were Harvard alumni, with one having attended Yale. The company accepted proposals from game inventors. Moot screened submissions and, when he saw promise in a design, arranged for the partners to test it collectively. This structure gave Games Research a selective, specialist character. Newspaper and magazine accounts in the 1960s described its games as intellectually challenging and somewhat academic in tone, distinguishing the company from publishers focused primarily on children's games or conventional mass-market entertainment. Games Research released Convention!, its first known title, in 1960. Designed by Homer D. Babbidge Jr., who later served as Undersecretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the game simulated an American political convention. Two to seven players competed to secure more than half of the delegates and win the presidential nomination or convention contest. The company's defining publication was Diplomacy. Allan B. Calhamer created the game in 1954 and unsuccessfully approached established publishers, including Parker Brothers. He eventually used his own money to produce 500 copies in 1959, selling them directly for $6.95 each. Games Research obtained the rights in 1960 and published its edition in 1961. The game used a 1914 European setting and allowed three to seven players to control different countries. Its distinctive feature was the importance of negotiation: players formed and broke alliances before resolving military moves, making conversation and trust central to the outcome. Diplomacy initially sold slowly. Its audience expanded through organized hobby activity, especially postal play. John Boardman helped publicize the idea through a science-fiction fanzine advertisement, and the first issue of the Diplomacy fanzine Graustark organized a correspondence game in August 1963. By 1967, dozens of fanzines were reportedly coordinating postal games. Games Research responded by advertising postal Diplomacy and including information about fanzine organizers with copies of the game. The title gradually acquired a reputation as a classic adult strategy game. It was also associated with prominent enthusiasts, including Henry Kissinger, John F. Kennedy, and Walter Cronkite, although the available material does not establish formal relationships between those individuals and the company. In December 1963, Games Research introduced What's That on My Head? The game used crown-like card holders worn by players. Other players inserted letter cards into the holder, leaving the wearer to infer the letters by asking questions and observing the cards visible on other players. A variant removed the fixed limit of three cards and required players to identify both the letters and the number of cards. The design combined deduction with physical and social interaction. The company published Insight in 1967. Players answered questions by selecting among options related to romance, luxury spending, reading preferences, and imagined environments. The game was intended to stimulate conversation and comparison among participants, sometimes producing friendly disagreement. Together with Convention! and What's That on My Head?, it demonstrated Games Research's interest in games that generated discussion beyond the board itself. By 1972, Diplomacy sales were described as steadily increasing. In 1973, annual sales were reported at approximately 15,000 copies, with a retail price of $8.95 and no paid advertising expenditure by Games Research. The company was later acquired by Avalon Hill. The acquisition date, terms, and subsequent treatment of the Games Research name are not identified in the available reference material. The company is therefore best understood as a historical publisher whose principal legacy is the commercial development and dissemination of Diplomacy.

• 1973

  Diplomacy reaches reported annual sales of 15,000 copies

  [1]Games Research Incen.wikipedia.org

  The game is reported to sell approximately 15,000 copies annually without paid advertising by the publisher.

• 1972

  Diplomacy sales continue to rise

  [1]Games Research Incen.wikipedia.org

  Contemporary reporting describes Diplomacy as having steadily increasing sales.

• 1967

  Insight is released

  [1]Games Research Incen.wikipedia.org

  Games Research publishes a conversation game in which players compare personality-related preferences.

• 1963

  What's That on My Head? is released

  [1]Games Research Incen.wikipedia.org

  The company publishes a social deduction game based on wearable card holders and hidden letters.

• 1961

  Diplomacy is commercially published

  [1]Games Research Incen.wikipedia.org

  Games Research issues its edition of Diplomacy, beginning the game's long commercial publishing history.

• 1960

  Convention! is released

  [1]Games Research Incen.wikipedia.org

  The company publishes Convention!, a political-convention simulation designed by Homer D. Babbidge Jr.

• 1960

  Diplomacy rights are acquired

  [1]Games Research Incen.wikipedia.org

  Games Research obtains the rights to Allan B. Calhamer's Diplomacy.

• 1959

  Games Research is founded in Boston

  [1]Games Research Incen.wikipedia.org

  Games Research begins operations as a partnership of five professionals with separate primary careers.

• Games Research is acquired by Avalon Hill

  [1]Games Research Incen.wikipedia.org

  Avalon Hill acquires the company; the available reference does not provide a date.

A specialist publisher of challenging, socially interactive, and intellectually oriented board games, with particular emphasis on negotiation, political simulation, deduction, and conversation.

• Political strategy board game · 1960

  Convention!

  Convention! simulates an American political convention. Players compete to secure more than half of the available delegates and achieve the central political objective. The game supports two to seven players and reflects Games Research's interest in political processes, negotiation, and structured social competition.

• Negotiation strategy board game · 1961

  Diplomacy

  Diplomacy is a three-to-seven-player strategy game set in Europe in 1914. Players control major powers and attempt to expand through simultaneous military movement, alliance building, persuasion, and betrayal. Unlike many contemporary strategy games, it does not rely on dice to resolve the central military contests. Games Research acquired the rights in 1960 and published the title in 1961. The game later developed a large postal-play community and became the company's signature publication.

• Social deduction game · 1963

  What's That on My Head?

  What's That on My Head? uses crown-like holders worn by players. Other participants place letter cards in each holder, and the wearer attempts to identify the hidden letters by asking questions and studying information visible on other players. The original format allowed up to six players and used three cards per head, while a variant changed the number of cards and required players to determine the quantity as well as the letters.

• Personality and conversation game · 1967

  Insight

  Insight asks players to select among answers to questions about personal preferences and imagined situations. Topics included romantic tastes, luxury spending, reading choices while snowbound, and settings associated with inner peace. The game was designed to prompt comparison and conversation, with the possibility of friendly disagreement as players interpreted one another's choices.

• 1967Postal Diplomacy promotion

  United States

  Games Research supported the growing correspondence-gaming community around Diplomacy by advertising postal games and distributing the names and addresses of fanzine editors who organized them.

  Outcome. The initiative helped connect players who could not assemble in person and contributed to the game's expanding hobby network.

  Source

• 1967

  Support organized postal play for DiplomacyStrategy

  Background

  Fan publications had begun organizing Diplomacy games by mail, allowing players to participate without meeting physically.

  Action taken

  Games Research advertised postal Diplomacy games and included organizer information with copies of the game.

  Aftermath

  The game's correspondence community grew, reinforcing Diplomacy's long-term hobby presence and helping sustain sales.

  Source

• 1960

  Acquire and publish DiplomacyProduct launch

  Background

  Allan B. Calhamer had been unable to secure a conventional publisher for Diplomacy and had produced a small self-financed run.

  Action taken

  Games Research acquired the rights and released its own edition in 1961.

  Aftermath

  The game initially sold slowly but later became a recognized classic of adult strategy gaming and the company's best-known title.

  Source

1. 1Games Research Incen.wikipedia.org