Happy families

Happy Families is a traditional British card game played with a specially designed deck of picture cards depicting fictional families of four, in which players try to collect complete family sets by asking opponents for specific cards, in a manner similar to Go Fish. It was invented by the games publisher John Jaques Jr and had been published by 1851; the original deck's grotesque, comic illustrations are traditionally attributed in part to the illustrator John Tenniel, and Jaques' company still produces editions of the game today. The classic Jaques edition depicts eleven families, each built around a trade or occupation such as baker, butcher or tailor, and each family consists of four members styled Mr, Mrs, Master and Miss. The game plays best with three or four players but can accommodate anywhere from two to eight, and is suitable for children aged three and up. In German-speaking countries a similar game is known as Quartett or Ablegespiel and is not restricted to occupational families, instead using themes such as farm animals or vehicles, and Happy Families can also be adapted for play with an ordinary deck of playing cards.