The Game of Authors
1861
BGG Geek Rating
5.4
based on 281 ratings
BGG Average Rating
4.6
community average
BGG Ranking
#29301
all board games
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Players
2-6
Weight
1.03/5.00
Playtime
15 min
Age
7+
⚙️ Game Mechanics
How this game works - core systems and player actions
🎨 Artists
Anne Erler-Reichold
Annemarie Gramberg
Arnold Zenkert
Barbara Henniger
Delphine Durand
Erich Neubert
Erich Ohser
Erika Leo-Urban
Ernst Stapelfeld
F. W. Martin Wolff
Fiep Westendorp
Franz Kerka
Hans de Beer
Harri Parschau
Harry Baerg
Heinz Jankofsky
Heinz Osthoff
Hergé
Horst Schrader
Hubert Lechner
Janosch
Jürgen Kieser
Karl Konrad Friedrich Bauer
Klaus Vonderwerth
Klemens Franz
Käthe Francke
Liesel Lauterborn
Louis Rauwolf
M. Neugebauer
Manfred Bofinger
Max Schaberschul
Max Wulff
Peter Bauer
Peyo
Regine Grube-Heinecke
Richard Hambach
Richard Scarry
Rolf Kauka
Rudolf Engel-Hardt
Siegfried Riediger
Sybo de Geus
Traude Schlegel
Uwe Rosenberg
Virginijus Poshkus
W Wilhelmsmeyer
Werner Graichen
Werner Ruhner
Wilhelm Busch
Willy Müller-Gera
🏢 Publishers
Parker Brothers
KOSMOS
Granna
VEB (Volkseigener Betrieb) Spielkartenfabrik Altenburg
McLoughlin Brothers
Wilder Manufacturing Co
Adolf Sala
Erhard Neubert KG
Birkel Teigwaren GmbH
M. Dittert & Co
Carlit
Otto Maier Verlag
Volkswagen/Audi
Walter Flechsig
Jos. Scholz
Mulder
Carl Werner
Catullus
Efteling
Bevink Edities
Fireside Game Co.
Leipziger Kinderbuchverlag
Kultquartett
Lederbogen Karl-Marx-Stadt
Kosmos Uitgevers
Schüle-Hohenlohe
Kasco Mills
Klipps Kaffee
Kaba
St. Benno-Verlag GmbH
ONKEL & ONKEL
SchneiderBuch
Grimaud
Nathan
Merrimack Publishing Corp.
Eurofranchising B.V.
ASS Altenburger Spielkarten
Jumbo
Bielefelder Spielkarten
Franz Schmidt
Rudolf Forkel KG
Schwager & Steinlein
N.W. Damm & Søn (Damm)
Selecta Spielzeug
AMIGO
Russell Manufacturing Company
Klee
General Mills
Richard Hauenstein
Verlag für Lehrmittel Pössneck
Lookout Games
Milton Bradley
Sala
Weltquartett
Warren Built Rite Games
Whitman
Verlag Bing Werke AG
Gustav Weise Verlag
National Game Company
Great American Game Company
Helingsche Verlagsanstalt
Groneweg & Meintrup
Humanus-Spiele
I.C.C. Product
J. Bünting & Co.
St. Briktius
Peliko Oy
MIKA
Selecta Spel en Hobby
G.M. Whipple
Glücksklee
Schmidt Spiele
The United States Playing Card Company
Kuvataide
Cincinnati Game Co.
Noris Spiele
H. P. Gibson & Sons
Cartamundi
Spear's Games
(Public Domain)
E. E. Fairchild Corporation
Review and Herald Publishing
Multicolor
F.X. Schmid
Piatnik
Djeco
(Unknown)
Tactic
📖 About This Game
Authors - One of the earliest versions of the family of Go Fish games, in which players call on each other to give up a named card, attempting to meld sets for points, based on which set of the game it is (e.g. the first melded set gets 10 points, the second gets 5 points). When all sets have been melded, most points wins.
From The Card Games Website
This is Go Fish without the stock pile. All the cards are dealt out as equally as possible to the players. A turn consists of asking a player for a rank (or a specific card if you play that version). If they have it your turn continues; if not the turn passes to the player you asked. As in Go Fish, you must have a card of the rank you asked for. Books of 4 cards are discarded. The game continues until all the cards are formed into books, and whoever gets most books wins - or you can score one point per book and play to a target score.
This game is often paired in the same deck with Top Trumps
Happy Families - An even earlier (1851), British version with the educational theme centered on family members and their occupations.
Quartett - This is the German equivalent of Happy Families or Authors. Many different designs of cards were made for this game in the late nineteenth and throughout the twentieth century, with various educational or other themes.