The New Happy Families Card Games are here!

It's back !!

160 years after its launch, one of the longest surviving games in the world has roared back in grand style - and in 24 great new special edition packs.

These ingenious new Happy Families card games are packed with innovations, improvements and witty illustrations that are both insightful and entertaining to play with. Let's take a quick tour through the new stuff:

If you've had the pleasure of playing earlier versions of the card game Happy Families then you'll know that the game is traditionally played with picture cards. Those picture cards were divided into socially stereotyped professions (e.g. "Mr. Bun the Baker" etc). Those professions have been discarded in favour of something altogether more appropriate and enjoyable:

These new versions of Happy Families focus on the different stages and moments in FAMILY LIFE. Humorously illustrated, the new cards are divided into groups like "The Happy Family at Christmas" (complete with ironic references for adults), "The Happy Family on a Long Car Journey" and "The Happy Family with Teenagers". From disastrous barbecue parties (think incinerated food, dogs stealing sausages etc) to joyous celebrations, this is the life of a real Happy Family sketched out in the most comical way.

The next innovation is that each of these 24 new Happy Families packs are already personalised to a family name. So there's a Happy Smith Families, Happy Jones Families and so on. If you have an unusual name then too bad but bear in mind that these fab new Happy Families games make great gifts for fun-loving families with more common surnames. Giving "Happy Smith Families" to a family named Smith really goes down well (we've tried it, they love it!). It’s a great gift idea.

Whilst on the topic of gift-giving, these new Happy Families card games also come complete with a personalised sheet of gift wrap paper. So if you choose the Williams Family edition then you'll also receive a little folded sheet of Williams gift wrap. This makes it easy for you to wrap it into a great looking gift for the Williams family. And remember that there are 24 different names to choose from, so it doesn't need to be a Williams.

Another innovative personal touch that make these new Happy Families card games such a great gift idea is found at the bottom of the cards. Each surname has been researched and snippets of info about each surname can be found at the bottom of the cards. This is for decoration only (the Happy Families rules haven’t changed). However it adds a pinch of brain food that’s never previously featured in a pack of Happy Families cards.

Mindful that families come in all shapes and sizes, the pack includes 4 optional blank cards that allow you (or more likely the kids) to create their own group of cards. Some choose to remodel the structure of the family whilst others go more lateral and make up groups of pets, pop stars or friends. If that doesn't sound like you then you can ignore those cards and play straight out of the box.

Different families have different age ranges of course and what's good for younger children doesn't always work for teenagers. These Happy Families card packs also have the game Go Fish included. This makes the games a "Little Box of good Times" for families with kids of all ages.

To see which names are available, use this link directly to the new Happy Families card game range (and be sure to click on a name and watch the fun videos).

In future posts we aim to explore some of the characters on the cards. Stay tuned !!