Authors is a simple but surprisingly strategic card game that will make a great addition to your next game night. You can play it with a unique deck of cards or even use a regular deck of cards if you prefer!
If you are getting bored of games like Spades or Solitaire, you’ll enjoy the Authors card game. Before we examine the rules, let’s take a quick look at how the game works in more detail.
What is the Authors Card Game?
Authors is a much more historic game than you might first think. It dates back to the 1800s and is surprisingly easy to play. If you play with the special Authors deck of cards, you might even learn a thing or two about famous literature!
The goal of this card game is to collect books of matching cards. Once you collect all of your four cards in a book, you bank it. The player with the most books at the end of the game wins. But how do players get more cards for their books?
This is where things get interesting; you simply ask another player for them? But while this might sound simple, it’s much more strategic than you might think. In your turn, you can ask any other player for a card.
But some precise rules must be followed. We’ll outline how these work in the game guide below. Authors can be a long game or a short one; it depends on how the cards fall and who you ask to trade.
But even when it’s not your turn, you should be paying close attention to what other players are doing. Unlike Poker or similar games, you can’t bluff in the Authors card game. If you are found to have lied, then you’ll face penalties later. Before looking at the rules, let’s look at what you’ll need to play.
What You’ll Need to Play?
You can play this card game in two ways, either with a special Authors deck of cards or a standard deck. If you use the special deck of cards, you’ll likely find the game a little more interesting, but both methods can work.
The Authors deck of cards features special artwork of famous authors and uses familiar suits and colors. Once you’ve got your cards, you can begin playing, but let’s look at the rules you need to know.
Rules and Gameplay
The Aim of The Game
To win Authors, you need to collect as many books as possible! A book is four of the same card; once collected, you place the book down in front of you. The game continues till all books have been claimed, and then the winner is announced.
The Set-Up
The Authors card game makes a great two-player game, but it can be played with up to six people. The more players you have, the more strategic the game becomes. The first thing to do is choose a dealer.
If you can’t decide upon a dealer, then shuffle the deck and have every player select a card. The player with the highest value card becomes the dealer. The dealer will shuffle the deck and split it between each player.
Ideally, players should have the same number of cards, although this might not always be possible. So don’t worry if a couple of players have an extra card. Once the cards are dealt, the player will go first to the dealer’s left. The game continues in a clockwise motion from then on.
Playing Authors
In your turn, you should look through your cards and then decide on which book you should make. For example, let’s say you have the King of Diamonds and the King of Hearts; then, you will be looking for the other two King cards.
To do this, you should ask one other player if they have the card you need. However, be warned you can only ask one player and need to be specific in your request. Using our earlier example, you need to ask for either the King of Spades or the King of Clubs.
You can’t just ask for a King card; if the player you ask does have the card, they must give it to. If they don’t have it, your turn is up, and play moves to the next person. This gameplay loop continues until all the cards are claimed and made into books.
Once this is done, the player with the most books will win! If two players have the same number of books, then the win is awarded to both. But before you get ready to play, make sure you know the essential rules below.
Authors Penalty Rules
You need to follow a few essential rules when playing the Authors card game. For simplicities sake, we have listed them below.
- If you are asked for a card (and you do have it), you must give it to the player who requests it. If you lie and say you don’t have it, only to reveal it later, you will suffer a penalty.
- If you incur a penalty, you will need to give each player one of your cards.
- If you complete a book, you must place it down in front of you right away. You shouldn’t reveal to the other players what the book is, though.
- If you run out of cards before the other players, you must wait until the other players have finished. Ideally, you should try to remain quiet while the game is still ongoing.
Authors – A Fun, Strategic Card Game
Authors are a bit of an underrated gem these days. While it might not be the most popular card game, it’s a lot of fun and well worth playing. The gameplay is simple but very strategic and sure to be a good choice for patient gamers and family game nights.
