Thursday, August 18, 2011

Authors - the card game




Have you ever played the card game Authors? 

I recently found a pack of them at an estate sale.  Since this card game is just two and a half inches tall, it was packaged with a few other items that were also small.  I guess it keeps people from pocketing the small stuff.

I specifically remember playing a set that looked exactly like this.  I remember the orange box and everything. 

When I started my Google search many hours ago, I found out that there are dozens of variations of this game.  The number of authors also varies from 10 to 14 depending on who releases the game.  The one in my possession has 11 authors and this is also the number that were in my childhood pack. 


This deck is officially a Whitman 1950 vintage Authors card game with the rule card complete with the 44 playing cards, 11 authors with four cards per Author.  Each card has four book titles on them.  One title at the top and the other three at the bottom.  This game is played a lot like Go Fish, but instead of asking for Fives or Aces, you ask for a book title.



You may click to enlarge


The authors shown here are William Shakespeare, Henry W. Longfellow, Louisa May Alcott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Water Scott, James Fenimore Cooper, Washington Irving, Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, and Alfred Lord Tennyson, but not in that order.



I found a very interesting blog post on "The massive continuity of ducks," where she discusses the evolution of the Authors card game.   It really is a fascinating read!  She is very upset that Jane Austen was never included in any of the variations and I don't blame her. 

This card game has been in constant production for over 60 years.  If you feel like it, go pick up a pack and play it with your kids or neighbors.   It'll be fun.

Have a great day!
Kristin

7 comments:

Keetha Broyles said...

We played this exact set many many times as children. The "face" sides of our cards were exactly like those, but the backs of our cards weren't orange I don't think.

I learned my authors and what they wrote from that game!

jb said...

LOVE it! I'm going to have to find a deck of my own to own!

Ann in the UP said...

Count me in. That's exactly the Authors game that I remember and I loved it. Makes me wonder why I'm so bad at playing rummy.

Karen and Gerard said...

I still have this same game! It was how I learned about authors and what books they wrote too. Didn't know that there are updated versions.

AudreyO said...

Not only have a I never heard of this, but I love garage sales and I don't recall ever seeing this game there.

42N said...

I'll see your Mark Twain and raise you an Edgar Allen Poe.

Debby@Just Breathe said...

That is so different. Hard to believe it's been in production for 60 years and I've never seen one. (I turn 60 in October so that's my whole life!)