Happy Families
Introduction
The format of the pack of playing cards - with its suit symbols, numeral cards, court hierarchy - lends itself to many secondary purposes, especially early learning. Alongside standard playing cards we have every possible kind of card game. Victorian children's playing cards were intended to have educational value. A good example is Quartet games and Happy Families which have educational benefits for young children, encouraging congenial play and developing counting, sorting and matching skills, as well as early literacy and elementary genealogy, flowers or bird identification, whatever the case may be.
Jaques' Happy Families, 1851
Happy Families is probably one of the most popular games ever invented. The production of Jaques' Original Happy Families in the mid-nineteenth century, with cartoons designed by John Tenniel (later Sir John, chief cartoonist of Punch), led to the appearance of numerous other 'family'-type games. It is interesting to see the great variety of different names given to the copy-cat games and the families. Jaques' Original Happy Families designs were copied, sometimes with only slight modifications, by later manufacturers as recently as the 1970s, testifying to their enduring popularity.
Above: four cards from an 1880s edition of Happy Families published by John Jaques & Son, 102 Hatton Garden, London, which included 11 families of four members each. Stencil-coloured lithography. Jaques' Happy Families was originally published in 1851 and shown at the Great Exhibition of that year. It was an instant success, rapidly superseding similar games in which players collected sets of four cards, an idea possibly taken from early German models. More...
Various alternatives of ‘Happy Families’ were mirrored in several countries. A similar game appeared in Germany called ‘Quartett’ and a French game ‘Jeu de Sept Familles’ featured seven families with six members each: Father, Mother, Son, Daughter, Grandmother and Grandfather. Some of the alternate names for ‘Happy Families’ were: Cheery Families; Funny Families; Merry Families; Jovial Families; Jolly Families and Familiar Families.
De La Rue's Cheery Families, c.1890
Above: cards from Cheery Families manufactured by De La Rue, London, c.1890. More...
The Chad Valley Games Happy Families, c.1914
Above: cards from The Round Card Game of Happy Families, published by Chad Valley Games, England. 1914 more →
Spear's Games Happy Families, c.1925
Above: cards from Happy Families - the amusing party game, published by Spear's Games, Enfield, England. c.1925. The set has eight families, making a total of 36 cards. The design of the cards has reverted to the slightly grotesque style originated by Jaques, with large heads and the addition of bright red lips. The rules are printed on the back of the box, and in this version players must contribute counters to a pool, which the winner and runner-up collect and share between them, thereby introducing a business element into the game. J. W. Spear & Son also produced 'ABC Happy Families', 'Merry Families' and 'Funny Families' in several editions as well as a variety of other interesting games.
Teddy Bear Happy Families
Above: cards from Teddy Bear Happy Families designed by Peter Wood and Simon Wintle. More...
Happy Families is one of the most popular card games ever devised, and it comes in many different guises. In all cases they offer the same benefits for early learners for developing matching and pairing skills, communication and social etiquette. Other variations on the same theme include quartet games based around Animals, Flowers or Bird sets, and also the well-known ‘Top Trumps’ series of quartet games featuring cars, aeroplanes, ships and so on.