Haggle is a party game designed by Sid Sackson and intended for a large number of players. It is rather complex and involved compared to many party games and, as a result, is often played only at gatherings of people who are known to enjoy gaming at other times.
Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games. Other types include pairing off (partnered) games, and parlour races. Different games will generate different atmospheres so the party game may merely be intended as an icebreakers, or the sole purpose for or structure of the party. As such, party games aim to include players of various skill levels and player-elimination is rare. Party games are intended to be played socially, and are designed to be easy for new players to learn.
Sid Sackson was an American board game designer and collector, best known as the creator of the business game Acquire.
At the start of the game, each player receives a secret, random, collection of plain, colored cards plus one or more slips, each one explaining one of the many valuation rules. These rules are made up by the game organiser before the game is played, and are not told to the players. Instead, different players will have different sets of knowledge about the rules. (Typical rules might be "red cards are worth two points each" or "each yellow card doubles your final score".)
The objective is for each player to accumulate the highest scoring collection of cards that they can. The players are given a particular amount of time - anything from twenty minutes to the whole party - to mix with each other. Players may trade cards on any terms they choose. They may also trade information about the rules. Before the end of the game, each player is required to hand in their final card collection in an envelope. The referee, who knows all the rules, then scores each hand and the player with the highest score wins. Typically, the winner will get a small prize of some type.
The game very strongly encourages people to mix with each other, but is rather complex for some players. Care must also be taken to ensure that the starting hands are similar in value.
Haggle is one of the games presented in Sackson's book, A Gamut of Games.
A Gamut of Games is an innovative book of games written by Sid Sackson and first published in 1969. It contains rules for a large number of paper and pencil, card, and board games. Many of the games in the book had never before been published. It is considered by many to be an essential text for anyone interested in abstract strategy games, and a number of the rules were later expanded into full-fledged published board games.
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