Hapy Families by Loki Kids and Coiledspring Games is a fun twist on the familiar “have you got an X?” game play. The main objective hasn’t changed. You are still trying to collect sets (“families”) of characters that match. Here, the families are adorable looking little Egyptian Gods that are linked by colour and species type.

But this time all the cards are arranged in an alternating face up/face down pyramid. The rules are simple. On, on your turn, you pick a card from the pyramid. If it’s face up, everybody knows what you’re starting to collect. If it’s face down, however, it goes into your hand and remains a secret within your growing collection. You may also ask another player for a specific card (so long as it hasn’t been requested on the previous turn), but you don’t have to. And if you form a set of 3 cards on your go then you must lay them down in front of you.

The winner is the first player to lay down one complete family of 6 matching cards or 5/4/3 sets of 3 matching cards in a 2/3/4 player game.

Sandy Secrets

Hāpy Families hasn’t changed the traditional play of Happy Families so much that it feels like a completely different game. But the addition of a pyramid containing a mixture of face up and face down cards brings a fun new dynamic to the familiar race. Knowing what cards others are picking up is also a good way to introduce younger gamers to set collection and encourages us oldies to perhaps mess with each other a little!

Final Thoughts

The illustrations on the cards are absolutely lovely. And even the card backs are wonderfully detailed. Given that the cards are laid out in a pyramid, the tie in with the Egyptian theme is obviously there. Even the inside of the box hasn’t been forgotten.

This is a sweet, portable, little game that can easily be played in under 10 minutes. The rules are simple and set up is done as soon as the cards are laid out. Although the pyramid takes up a little more table space that the usual single deck, it’s worth finding a flat surface to see all those lovely card fronts and illustrated backs! Age wise, it feels right. Children as young as 5+ should be able to get to grips with the basic concepts, and the box should keep the cards safe when it disappears into their game collection!

If you’re looking for a fun, colourful, budget friendly card game for young gamers then I would definitely recommend Hapy Families. And if you like this one, Loki Kids have another two new games in their small box range to check out; Tentacolor and Farm & Furious.

This blog was written by Favouritefoe

Editors note: This post was originally published on 21st April 2023. Updated on 16th May 2024 to improve the information available.