Using GameCatalog.org

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Identifier Numbers

Associated fields on GameCatalog.org:

  • G-#  or AGPI # – A unique identifier assigned by the AGPI Archives for a game, e.g. G-23409, for McLoughlin Bros.’ 1882 edition of Man in the Moon.
  • P-# or AGPI Publisher # – A unique identifier assigned by the AGPI Archives for a game publisher, e.g. P-138for American Toy Works.
  • Tucker Tiddlywinks # – A unique identifier for a tiddlywinks game, assigned by Rick Tucker, e.g. ALL-03 for All-Fair’s Blinky Blinx Tiddledy Winks.
  • Others may be added over time, e.g. for museum or archives identifiers or identifiers used by other game database sites.
  • Publisher # – A number or alphanumeric sequence assigned by a publisher to identify a particular game. These can either be marked on some part of the game or be provided in a sales catalog. In a few cases, the Publisher # on one part of a game (e.g., cover) may be different than the Publisher # on another part (e.g., rules). Publishers may reuse a number on different games.

Publisher Information

Associated fields on GameCatalog.org:

  • Publisher –
  • Publisher Name on Game – the name of the publisher as printed on some part of the game (cover, rules, board, etc.). This may be slightly different than the name of the publisher in the Publisher field.
    • Example: Alderman-Fairchild Corp. for All-Fair, Inc.
  • Publisher # – A number or alphanumeric sequence used by a publisher to identify a particular game. These can either be marked on some part of the game or be provided in a sales catalog. In a few cases, the Publisher # on one part of a game (e.g., cover) may be different than the Publisher # on another part (e.g., rules). Publishers may reuse a number on different games.
  • Publisher Mark – A logo or stylized text identifying a publisher or one of its brands.
  • See Also – to be provided.

Game Titles (for games only)

Associated fields on GameCatalog.org:

  • Title – The title of the game. When a game’s title starts with general words or phrases, such as “The Game of”, “Popular Game of”, or contain’s the game publisher’s name, e.g. “Whitman’s”, or a licensor’s name, e.g. “Walt Disney’s”, that portion of the game title is highlighted in italics. Note also that in regular searches on games, these are not indexed.
  • Title Source – In recent updates to GameCatalog.org, the source of the game title is also noted. For example, “cover” indicates that one of the GameCatalog.org editors or contributors recorded the game title from visual observation of the game cover or a photograph of it.
  • Title, Preserving Case – For many games, the title of the game is also recorded using the capitalization of the title’s words preserved as they appear on the game cover or apron.
  • Title, English Translation – When a game’s title is not in English, an English translation of the title is provided in some cases.

Dates

Associated fields on GameCatalog.org:

  • Date – A date for the game. Determining dates for games can be challenging. See our separate guide to Dating Games.
  • Date (also …) – In cases where the same game title was produced in multiple years, those years are identified as additional editions. However, if there are known differences or variations in games with the same title, those variations become separate game entries, and the variations are noted in the Variant Description field.
  • Date Source – In recent updates to GameCatalog.org, the source of the game’s date is also noted. For example, “cover” indicates that one of the GameCatalog.org editors or contributors recorded the game’s date from visual observation of the game cover or a photograph of it. Other typical sources of dates include:
    • Game cover
    • Game board
    • Rules
    • A dated company catalog listing games offered for sale
    • Copyright records
    • Newspaper or magazine advertisements or articles
    • A book
    • A museum or archives’ description
    • A website
    • A listing on an auction site or a sales site
  • Copyright By – Where copyright information for the game is known, from either a game part or copyright records, it is included. In some cases a game may show copyright markings for a licensor (e.g., Walt Disney or Hanna-Barbera) instead of or in addition to a copyright by the publisher.
  • Symbols and abbreviations used with dates:
    • < · earlier than
    • ≤ · no later than
    • > · after
    • ≥ · no earlier than
    • ~ · circa
    • © · copyright

Game Characteristics (for games only)

Associated fields on GameCatalog.org:

  • Game Type
  • Keywords
  • Number of Players
  • Player Ages
  • Price

Game Descriptions (for games only)

Associated fields on GameCatalog.org:

  • Box Background
  • Short Description
  • Cover Description
  • Aprons
  • Box Bottom Description
  • Contents
  • Variant Description– if there are known differences or variations in games with the same title, those variations become separate game entries. Typical variations of games with the same title from the same publisher include:
    • Different illustration on the cover
    • Different publisher catalog number
    • Different size or shape of the box or container
  • Similar Games

Instructions (for games only)

Associated fields on GameCatalog.org:

  • Instructions
  • Rules Format – Identifies how or where the rules are provided. Examples:
    • printed under box lid
    • label under box lid
    • leaflet
    • printed on game board
  • Rules Description – a short summary of the title and some other information included in the rules
  • Rules Transcript – for some games, a complete or partial transcript of the rules.
  • … links to rules images

Box or Container (for games only)

Associated fields on GameCatalog.org:

  • Container Type – Examples:
    • Cardboard box
    • Wooden box
    • Cylindrical container
    • Envelope
  • Container Size – width, height, and depth of the box or container. Note that the width of the box is determined when the cover of the box is horizontal. The size may be in inches or centimeters.

Locations

Associated fields on GameCatalog.org:

  • Addresses (for publishers only) – Known addresses for a publisher are provided and are sorted by dates at that address; addresses with unknown dates appear before those with dates. The dates may indicate a range of years when a publisher was located at the address (e.g., 1875 to 1876), a single year, or multiple years (e.g., 1912; 1915). For the multiple year listings, the years provided are those that have been confirmed by various sources. Note that it is entirely possible that a publisher was at a particular address in other years.With each address is a web link to Google Maps for the address.
  • Made in Location (for games only) – For recently added or updated game listings, the location of a game’s manufacture identified on a part of a game. Examples:
    • Made in U.S.A.
    • British Manufacture
    • England (with foreign part)
  • Other Cover Text (for games only) – For some games, the location of manufacture or company locations may appear on the cover. Examples:

Persons

Associated fields on GameCatalog.org:

  • Persons Involved (for games only) – people associated with the game, whether designers, illustrators, or otherwise.
  • Principals (for publishers only) – people who were founders or other principal partners in a company.
    • Example: Elmer E. Fairchild (founder); H. O. Alderman (founder) – for All-Fair, Inc.

Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights

[to be provided]

Other Information (for games only)

Associated fields on GameCatalog.org:

  • Premium
  • Additional Info
  • Tiddlywinks Type
  • Tiddlywinks Targets
  • TwTargetType
  • Winks
  • Tiddlywinks Felt

Sources (for games only)

Associated fields on GameCatalog.org:

  • In Collection
  • External Web Links
  • Sources

Search Elsewhere

Links are provided to the following sites for searching elsewhere for the game or publisher. There is no guarantee that the search will result in finding the exact game or publisher, or any game at all.

  • For games:
    • Google
    • Bing
    • BoardGameGeek
    • eBay
    • Wikipedia
    • Additional site searches may be provided in the future
  • For publishers:
    • Wikipedia
    • BoardGameGeek
  • Additional site searches may be provided in the future