about the banned books playing cards
about the banned books playing cards Created to celebrate the American Library Association's annual "Banned Books Week," this traditional set of 52 playing cards integrates the distinctly nontraditional theme of "banned books" into four highly scandalous suits: * Religion & Science * Profanity * Sex & Orientation * Violence & Hatred Each suit features symbols relating to its theme instead of the usual hearts, spades, etc. Two are red and two are black. The best part is the face cards, which list both famous and obscure works that have been challenged or banned in the last one hundred years, laid out as if they've been hand-written on individual library cards. The full deck contains the standard number of 52 cards, which means cards numbered 2-10 and King, Queen, Jack face cards for each suit, but no Joker cards. The deck can be used to play any game you might play with a normal deck, such as "Solitaire" or "Go Fish." Keep reading for instructions on how to play the game "Authors" -- a variation on Go Fish dating back to the turn of the century!
instructions for playing "authors" Items Required: A deck of 52 cards. Number of Players: 3 to 5 players The Game's Goal: To make more "books" than anyone else. A "book" is a set of four cards of the same rank. (For example, a set of all four Queens would make a book.) Before You Begin: Pick a random player to start as the first dealer. The dealer should shuffle the cards, then deal them one at a time, face down, to each player in turn until you run out of cards. Then players can look at their cards and arrange them as desired. Playing The Game: The player to the left of the dealer goes first. On her turn, a player asks one of the other players for a specific card (e.g. the Queen of Sex). If the player being asked for a card has that card, he must give it to the player who asked for it. If the player whose turn it is receives the card they asked for, she gets another turn, and can ask any player for another card. A player MAY NOT ask for a card unless she already has at least one of that card's rank in her hand. (So if you don't have any Queens, you can't ask another player for a Queen.) A player's turn continues until she doesn't receive the card she requests. Turns rotate in a clockwise direction (normally the player to your left would go next). Presenting Your Sets: When a player completes a "book" of four cards of the same rank (e.g. four Queens), she should show them to the other players. Then she should place them face down on the table until the end of the game.
When Your Cards Run Out: When a player has no cards left in her hand, she's out of the game. The rest of the players keep playing as long as they still have cards. The Winner! When all the players run out of cards, whoever collected the most "books" wins! Unless, of course, there is a tie, in which case you can use the following method, unique to the Banned Books deck, to declare a winner. The Book Trivia Face-Off! When there is a tie, the players who have tied should sit side by side. A player who is not part of the tie should take the role of the dealer and sit across the table from the tied players. The dealer should create a pile of all the face cards (Queens, Kings, and Jacks) face down on table. Make sure the pile has been thoroughly shuffled, then pick up the card on the top of the pile, careful not to let any of the players see it. Read one book title at random from the face card -- whoever guesses the author of that book first wins! If no one gets it, try a different book title, or pick a different card off the pile for a fresh list of books.
instructions for playing "authors" Items Required: A deck of 52 cards. Number of Players: 3 to 5 players The Game's Goal: To make more "books" than anyone else. A "book" is a set of four cards of the same rank. (For example, a set of all four Queens would make a book.) Before You Begin: Pick a random player to start as the first dealer. The dealer should shuffle the cards, then deal them one at a time, face down, to each player in turn until you run out of cards. Then players can look at their cards and arrange them as desired. Playing The Game: The player to the left of the dealer goes first. On her turn, a player asks one of the other players for a specific card (e.g. the Queen of Sex). If the player being asked for a card has that card, he must give it to the player who asked for it. If the player whose turn it is receives the card they asked for, she gets another turn, and can ask any player for another card. A player MAY NOT ask for a card unless she already has at least one of that card's rank in her hand. (So if you don't have any Queens, you can't ask another player for a Queen.) A player's turn continues until she doesn't receive the card she requests. Turns rotate in a clockwise direction (normally the player to your left would go next). Presenting Your Sets: When a player completes a "book" of four cards of the same rank (e.g. four Queens), she should show them to the other players. Then she should place them face down on the table until the end of the game.
When Your Cards Run Out: When a player has no cards left in her hand, she's out of the game. The rest of the players keep playing as long as they still have cards. The Winner! When all the players run out of cards, whoever collected the most "books" wins! Unless, of course, there is a tie, in which case you can use the following method, unique to the Banned Books deck, to declare a winner. The Book Trivia Face-Off! When there is a tie, the players who have tied should sit side by side. A player who is not part of the tie should take the role of the dealer and sit across the table from the tied players. The dealer should create a pile of all the face cards (Queens, Kings, and Jacks) face down on table. Make sure the pile has been thoroughly shuffled, then pick up the card on the top of the pile, careful not to let any of the players see it. Read one book title at random from the face card -- whoever guesses the author of that book first wins! If no one gets it, try a different book title, or pick a different card off the pile for a fresh list of books.
