Thinking Man's Basketball

Thinking Man's Basketball was intended to join the 3M Sports Games line of vinyl wraparound games. It never made it past the prototype stage.

Each side drafts a team simply by writing seven numbers on a sheet of paper and assigns them positions (1 Center, 3 Forwards and 3 Guards), then choosing 5 of these to start the game. Players position and move their team members up and down the board for the best chance to make a shot (or cover a rebound), then roll on charts when a shot is taken to determine the result. Movement (both distance and the ability to change directions) is determined by the position played by each team member. Players can also challenge possession as the ball is dribbled or passed.

Each quarter progresses until both teams combined have scored at least 15 points, though experienced players can boost this to 25-30 per period. After 4 quarters, the player with the most points wins. In the event of a tie, 7 point overtime periods are played until a winner emerges.

It is uncertain how many prototypes 3M produced. Reputedly the prototype(s) were of production quality, save that the inner black box was not specifically tailored to the game.

At least one prototype was sent to Sid Sackson for evaluation, with a note from 3M asking for his opinions and stating that he could keep the game. Sid later apparently sold this prototype, but made photocopies of the rules and key game elements in 1993 and retained these for reference.