How to Play

A family matching card game in which players ask named opponents for named cards to collect quartets (four of a rank or themed family). Direct ancestor of Go Fish and the Victorian Happy Families tradition.

Quartets is a family of matching card games in which each player's goal is to collect complete sets (quartets) of four related cards by asking opponents for specific cards by name. It is the international generic form of Happy Families, the 1851 John Jaques and Son game that first formalised the mechanic in Victorian England. Quartets can be played with a purpose-printed pack (typically 32 to 48 cards arranged in 8 to 12 themed families of 4) or with a standard 52-card deck, in which case each rank (Aces, Kings, Queens, and so on) forms one quartet of 4 cards. Play passes clockwise and every answer is truthful: when you ask a named opponent for a specific named card, they must hand it over if they hold it, and otherwise say so, which ends your turn and passes play to them. A player may only ask for a card whose quartet they are already holding at least one card from. When all 13 quartets in a 52-card deck (or all printed families in a custom pack) have been laid down, whoever has collected the most sets wins the match. Quartets is the ancestor of Go Fish and the British Happy Families tradition, and the mechanic underpins modern family learning decks sold in Germany, France, and the Netherlands as Quartett or Jeu des 7 Familles.

Players

3 to 6 players, best at 4 or 5. No partnerships; every player is for themselves. Deal rotates clockwise after each completed match. Typical match takes 15 to 25 minutes with a 52-card deck or 10 to 15 minutes with a themed 32 to 48 card set.

Card Deck

Two options. (1) Standard 52-card pack: each rank (A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2) forms a 4-card quartet, giving 13 quartets in total. (2) Purpose-printed Quartets or Happy Families deck: 8 to 12 themed families of 4 cards each (e.g. Mr Bun the Baker, Mrs Bun, Master Bun, Miss Bun), typically 32 to 48 cards total. With a custom pack, each family is a quartet. Suits do not matter in either form; only the rank or family name is tracked.

Objective

Collect more complete quartets than any other player. A quartet is all 4 cards of one rank (with a 52-card pack) or all 4 members of one printed family (with a themed pack). When every quartet in the deck has been completed and laid face up in front of its owner, whoever holds the most quartets wins.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the pack thoroughly.
2. Deal the cards one at a time clockwise until the deck is exhausted. Players may receive unequal hands if the deck does not divide evenly; this is normal and no draw pile is used.
3. Players sort their hands privately by rank or family. The player to the dealer's left takes the first turn.
4. Any player who is dealt a complete quartet at the start may lay it face up immediately before play begins (optional; some groups require the player to wait and capture it during play).

Gameplay

1. Asking: On your turn, choose one named opponent and one named card by rank or family (e.g. 'Sam, do you have the King of Spades?' or 'Sam, may I have Master Bun?'). You must already hold at least one card of that quartet in your own hand to be allowed to ask for it.K♠
2. Truthful answer: The asked player must answer honestly. If they hold the named card, they hand it over face up to the asker and the asker takes another turn. If they do not, they say so and the turn passes to them (they become the next asker).
3. Laying down a quartet: As soon as you hold all 4 cards of a single quartet, place them face up in a row in front of you. Those cards are out of play and count as 1 point toward your score.
4. Running out of cards: If your hand empties mid-game and at least one quartet is still out there, draw 1 card from any still-holding opponent (or, in variants, skip your turn) and continue. Some groups simply pass to the next asker when an empty-handed player's turn comes.
5. End of match: The match ends when all quartets in the deck have been collected. If a player holds partial quartets that no one can complete because the remaining cards are in other hands, the round still continues until every card is accounted for.

Scoring

• 1 point per complete quartet laid down during the match. No partial credit for 2 or 3 cards of a rank or family.
• Match winner: Player with the most quartets at the end. Ties are shared or broken by an extra quick deal.
• Session score: For longer sessions, add up quartets across several matches and declare the session winner at an agreed threshold (e.g. first to 10 quartets across matches).

Winning

Winning a single match is collecting the most quartets once the deck is exhausted. A complete 52-card match awards up to 13 quartets distributed among the players; a Happy Families 44-card match awards 11. There are no lives or elimination; when the deck is done, the tally decides the winner.

Common Variations

• Happy Families (John Jaques, 1851): The original themed version; 11 families of 4 cards each (Mr, Mrs, Master, Miss) built around comic Victorian occupations. Same asking rules, same winning condition; the themed pack is the distinguishing feature.
• Go Fish: Close cousin. Instead of turn passing when the asked player does not have the card, the asker draws one card from a central stock. A player who draws the exact card they asked for takes another turn.
• Authors (educational variant): Quartets with author-themed cards; each family is four works of one author.
• Jeu des Sept Familles (France): Seven families of 6 members (grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, son, daughter); sextets rather than quartets, but otherwise identical rules.
• Quartett (Germany): Themed educational packs (cars, dinosaurs, cities) using the same mechanic; often with additional 'top trumps' style comparison scoring when the quartet is laid down.
• Strict Happy Families: The 1851 rulebook says a player who forgets to ask for a card on their turn loses it to the opponent who spotted the mistake. Played by Victorian children as a memory and etiquette drill.

Tips and Strategy

• Listen closely to every ask. When Sam asks Alex for the 7 of Clubs, you learn Sam holds at least one 7 and Alex probably does not have the 7 of Clubs; both facts narrow your choices later.7♣
• Save your most obvious asks for the end of your turn. If your first ask exposes a quartet you are chasing, subsequent asks across the table will try to starve you.
• Do not ask blindly. The 'you must hold one card of the quartet' rule is real, and some strict groups penalise an illegal ask (typically the offender loses a card to the player they tried to ask).
• In themed packs, ask early for members of families you already hold two of. The later the match runs, the easier it is for opponents to remember which family you are chasing.
• If you run out of cards mid-match, agree with the group in advance whether your turn is skipped or whether you may draw one card from a still-holding opponent.

Glossary

• Quartet: A complete set of 4 cards of one rank (in a 52-card deck) or one family (in a themed pack). Worth 1 point.
• Family: A themed-pack quartet, e.g. the Buns (Baker family) in Happy Families.
• Ask: The turn action of naming one opponent and one specific card you want. Requires holding at least one card of that quartet.
• Lay down: Placing a completed 4-card quartet face up in front of you. The cards are locked out of further play.
• Happy Families: The 1851 John Jaques and Son named themed variant; the original marketed form of Quartets.
• Strict ask rule: A house rule that penalises asking for a card you do not already hold a member of.