The Probert Encyclopaedia of Recreation

HAPPY FAMILIES

Happy Families is a card game for three or more players generally thought of as a children's game. The object of the game is to collect complete sets of four, known as 'families'. Either a standard deck of cards can be used, or more usually specially designed cards which have sets of four people such as 'Mr Bun the Baker' and 'Mrs Bun the Baker's Wife'. Players take it in turns to ask any other player for a card which is a member of a set of which the first player has at least one of in his hand. If the player requested has the specified card, they hand it over and the first player continues asking other players for cards in the same manner until a request is unsatisfied, play then passes to the next player. When a player has collected all four members of a set, they place that family down. Play continues until all sets of families have been collected. The winner is then the player with the most families.

During the Second World War the German government produced a military version of the game with cards printed with weapons and troop types which comprised families, such as the Infantry howitzer, Pak 3.7 cm anti-tank gun, mortar and Schweres machine-gun which comprised the 'Heavy Weapons Family'. These sets of cards were distributed to German troops for entertainment on the Western Front during 1944 and 1945.
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