Happy Families
A card game.
This game that revolves around collecting all four members of a nuclear family group. The player with the most families at the end of play wins.
May be seen as confusing/old fashioned to younger generations as the families have both parents and has been used to satire the current family structure/ current state of society.
The Families can include
- Bacon, the Butcher
- Block, the Barber
- Block, the Builder
- Bone (or Bones), the Butcher
- Brush, the Artist
- Bud, the Florist
- Bun, the Baker
- Bung, the Brewer
- Carriage, the Undertaker
- Chalk, the Teacher
- Chip, the Carpenter
- Chop, the Butcher
- Constable, the Policeman
- Creep, the Crook
- Deck, the Swabhand
- Dip, the Dyer
- Dose, the Doctor
- Field, the Farmer
- Flea, the vet
- Green, the Grocer (most likely a greengrocer)
- Grits, the Grocer
- Hardwatch, the First Mate
- Hearty, the Captain
- Hose, the Fireman
- Jumbo, the pilot
- Mug, the Milkman
- Parcel, the postman
- Pint, the Milkman
- Pipe, the plumber
- Plod, the Policeman
- Pots, the Painter
- Snoot, the First Class Passenger
- Snuffet, the Undertaker
- Sole, the Fisherman
- Soot, the Sweep
- Stamp, the Postman
- Stitches, the Sailmaker
- Tape, the Tailor
- Teeth, the dentist
- Test, the Teacher
- Trim, the Tailor
- Tuckin, the Chef
Not all of these are included in every edition and there all also local variations such as White the painter.
Compare and contrast with the card game Gloom, in which each player starts with a complete family and then slowly kills them off.
Tropes used in Happy Families include:
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": All are known by a name representing their jobs, no first names are shown.
- Nuclear Family: Each family contains a mother,father, son and daughter.