- BGG rank
- BGG #31,269
- BGG rating
- 4.8
Happy Families
- 2–4 players
- 10–30 min
- Complexity 1.1/5
- 1851
- BGG rank
- BGG #31,255
- BGG rating
- 4.6
The Game of Authors
1861
Rules assistance for The Game of Authors
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–6 players
- 5–15 min
- 7+
- Complexity 1.0/5
Rules assistant for The Game of Authors
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Game of Authors is a board game released in 1861 for 2–6 players, 5–15 minutes per game, and ages 7 and up. It was designed by Anne W. Abbott and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Memory.
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About the game
Authors - One of the earliest versions of the family of Go Fish games, in which players call on each other to give up a named card, attempting to meld sets for points, based on which set of the game it is (e.g. the first melded set gets 10 points, the second gets 5 points). When all sets have been melded, most points wins. From The Card Games Website This is Go Fish without the stock pile. All the cards are dealt out as equally as possible to the players. A turn consists of asking a player for a rank (or a specific card if you play that version). If they have it your turn continues; if not the turn passes to the player you asked. As in Go Fish, you must have a card of the rank you asked for. Books of 4 cards are discarded. The game continues until all the cards are formed into books, and whoever gets most books wins - or you can score one point per book and play to a target score. This game is often paired in the same deck with Top Trumps Happy Families - An even earlier (1851), British version with the educational theme centered on family members and their occupations. Quartett - This is the German equivalent of Happy Families or Authors. Many different designs of cards were made for this game in the late nineteenth and throughout the twentieth century, with various educational or other themes.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- (Unknown)
- Parker Brothers
- Schmidt Spiele
- ASS Altenburger Spielkarten
- Klee
- Carlit
- Kuvataide
- N.W. Damm & Søn (Damm)
- General Mills
- Franz Schmidt
- MIKA
- Milton Bradley
- Piatnik
- Otto Maier Verlag
- Spear's Games
- Jumbo
- AMIGO
- Tactic
- F.X. Schmid
- (Public Domain)
- Noris Spiele
- Selecta Spel en Hobby
- KOSMOS
- Peliko Oy
- Cartamundi
- Whitman
- Selecta Spielzeug
- Sala
- Mulder
- U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
- Grimaud
- H. P. Gibson & Sons
- Nathan
- Granna
- National Game Company
- E. E. Fairchild Corporation
- McLoughlin Brothers
- Djeco
- Gustav Weise Verlag
- Jos. Scholz
- The United States Playing Card Company
- Russell Manufacturing Company
- Lookout Games
- Efteling
- Bielefelder Spielkarten
- Birkel Teigwaren GmbH
- VEB (Volkseigener Betrieb) Spielkartenfabrik Altenburg
- Lederbogen Karl-Marx-Stadt
- Adolf Sala
- Helingsche Verlagsanstalt
- Bevink Edities
- Eurofranchising B.V.
- Wilder Manufacturing Co
- Rudolf Forkel KG
- Cincinnati Game Co.
- Fireside Game Co.
- Great American Game Company
- Merrimack Publishing Corp.
- Kultquartett
- Warren Built Rite Games
- G.M. Whipple
- Review and Herald Publishing
- St. Benno-Verlag GmbH
- Weltquartett
- Catullus
- ONKEL & ONKEL
- Multicolor
- Kasco Mills
- Walter Flechsig
- Richard Hauenstein
- Humanus-Spiele
- M. Dittert & Co
- Erhard Neubert KG
- Verlag für Lehrmittel Pössneck
- Klipps Kaffee
- Schwager & Steinlein
- Volkswagen/Audi
- St. Briktius
- Glücksklee
- J. Bünting & Co.
- Groneweg & Meintrup
- Schüle-Hohenlohe
- Carl Werner
- Leipziger Kinderbuchverlag
- SchneiderBuch
- Kaba
- Verlag Bing Werke AG
- I.C.C. Product
- Sage, Sons & Co.
- Kosmos Uitgevers
Questions and answers
The Game of Authors supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for The Game of Authors is 5–15 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists The Game of Authors for ages 7 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
The Game of Authors has a complexity rating of 1.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
The Game of Authors belongs to these categories: Card Game, Animals, and Children's Game. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Memory. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of The Game of Authors are: Anne W. Abbott. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists The Game of Authors as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.